tlw
Hm.

Let’s see. The EU means a single market and customs union, many countries sharing the same currency and an integrated on-line purchase tax system.

You really think it was easier trading between European countries when you had to deal with nearly 30 different currencies, every country had its own different customs systems and there were nearly 30 different tax, duties and tariff regimes?

Not according to most people whose businesses sell and buy across the EU it wasn’t.

It was not my attempt to say that the status before the EU was better (at least concerning trade). I just like to compare it to the U.S. and there it is really inferior for customers and small business, too many rules and taxes! The main advantage of the EU is for big business, just see shipping prices as example. There is not many folks in the EU buying things in other countries and this proves its benefit for simple people.

List of of imports from the US which will be imposition of additional duties - tradoc_156909.pdf
http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2018/may/tradoc_156909.pdf

I'm hoping it works out.
 
Justice is such a complicated thing to arrange.
 
I believe in the importance of taxes, though not all of the ways we as a group prioritize spending them. I'm one of those unusual people who believes that the price of peace is worth paying, even if you aren't sure if you have to pay for it.
 
As an aside, are you aware of the sustainable development goals just ratified?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Development_Goals
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/takeaction/
 
Sometimes there are things worth doing.

abacab
...Use an ecommerce and payments provider to facilitate all sales transactions in the USA, such as Digital River or Amazon, or something like that.  

This is exactly what will happen. You'll subscribe to a service that provides the tax calculation based on the customer's address. For an additional fee, they'll also handle annual disbursement. More middle-men to take a slice of your profit. More "financial sector" hands in your pocket.

Many states with sales tax already require buyers to make up for unpaid sales tax by imposing a "use tax" on untaxed* out-of-state purchases (including online) payable along with state income taxes. Any buyer/taxpayer who does not comply runs a risk of repercussions. For example, a mail-order vendor in one state goes bankrupt or faces some other legal issue and winds up making agreements with nearby states to provide names of customers who made purchases. Those states then come calling...
 
Turbotax e.g. has extensive data entry schemes for individuals to compute use tax owed, even in places that have separate state, county, local, district, and zone sales taxes. There is some burden on the taxpayer to have a record of purchases and taxes already paid, but clearly the software to calculate sales/use tax in disparate districts is not too crazy. Small vendors or ecommerce sites might wind up subscribing to a specialist fourth party middleman for sales tax computations and collections. This does not directly increase the taxes one is required to pay, but reduces by a small fee the amount legally due to the states/districts, while most likely increasing the taxes so collected. If you believe your state or locality is overcollecting, you can still vote 'em out with votes, but not out-of-state purchases.
 
*untaxed -- including cases where the buyer physically purchased something in another state that does not collect its own sales tax.

Many of such services demand a monthly fee (the same with a lot of payment services). This is okay if you are selling products in a large quantity. But if you are a really small business, then such tax rules that require additional services make your business unprofitable, it's that easy. And I am sure that some of the (good) plugin providers play in that league! So this helps only the big ones, hence there are less competitors and this is stacked against the consumer (WE).
 
Marc

marled
Many of such services demand a monthly fee (the same with a lot of payment services). This is okay if you are selling products in a large quantity. But if you are a really small business, then such tax rules that require additional services make your business unprofitable, it's that easy. And I am sure that some of the (good) plugin providers play in that league! So this helps only the big ones, hence there are less competitors and this is stacked against the consumer (WE).
 
Marc

The boutiques could sell through an already established retail site instead of selling direct.  Sure, they would have to give up a bit of margin, but it may be less costly than paying transaction/monthly fees and buying aspirin in bulk.

bitflipper
This is exactly what will happen. You'll subscribe to a service that provides the tax calculation based on the customer's address. For an additional fee, they'll also handle annual disbursement. More middle-men to take a slice of your profit. More "financial sector" hands in your pocket.

But there is a positive aspect to this - and forget music software for a moment and just consider purchase of general goods.  The tax-free days of internet commerce was really bad for local business, the so-called brick-and-mortar sector.  Having everything taxed the same levels the playing a field at least a bit. 
 
I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that I rather miss local book stores - they were such a pleasant and peaceful place to hang out.  Tax-free online sales has been one aspect of what has all but killed them.  That's not to say, of course, that I like the idea of paying more taxes - my local sales tax is close to 9% last time I checked.

bitflipper
I have no idea how they expect to make this work!
 
From a software developer's perspective, taxes are a major PIA. In my own software I've had to code for separate tax laws in 50 states, 10 provinces, and six countries. Some of the rules are really goofy (lookin' at you, Quebec and Florida). 
 
Now small businesses will have to get tax forms and instructions for every locale they do business with. Not just every state/province/country, but the hundreds of taxing districts within them (every city has its own tax rates).
 
They will need to alter their bookkeeping systems to create accounts for hundreds of taxing authorities. They will have to figure out how to calculate the taxes (some locales have a sliding rate schedule depending on the amount of the sale, some have complicated rules about what rate to use and who and what items are subject to them, and a few oddballs have compound taxes).
 
They will have to identify every customer's precise locale to determine which taxes apply, and ask previously-unneeded and intrusive questions - like "do you work for the government?", "are you a member of a native tribe?", "is this for resale, and can you prove you have a business license in your state?".
 
This was not an issue before, because taxes were based on where the retailer was located, not where the customer was. Amazon has always charged me sales tax because I'm local to them, and it has always been the tax rate for their home address in Seattle. Sweetwater does not charge me sales tax because they're in Indiana and I'm not. Now, Sweetwater will have to somehow know what taxes apply here in my hometown, get updated when they change annually, and file returns with the state of Washington. And every other state and province they ship to.
 
Years ago the state of Oregon wanted to collect liquor tax from airplane passengers flying over their state. That idea didn't fly, for obvious reasons.

Sales Tax Payer ID # with a national Sales Tax Payer database.
 
Speaking of Brick/Mortar ... It's currently common to travel to a neighbor state that doesn't charge a sales tax for purchases.  Will the state of residence now expect to be paid?
 
I think I need a PO Box in a state without sales tax ;)
 

It's always been kinda weird for me here sitting 1 mile from the US border. 
If I order something from a US company like Sweetwater  and they ship it to my home address in BC I pay $36-$360  shipping. 
If I have it sent to 1 mile away in Danville Washington I get free shipping.
Then it's hit or miss if the Canada Custom people charge me GST or duty on the item I'm bringing across. Most times if its around $100-$150 they just say "Have a Nice day" and send me through. If I go down for a day trip, I can get away with about $300 worth of groceries etc. They will nail me on bigger electronic items so I buy those here in Canada. 
 
But we are now being told there will be no more of this at all, they will be charging taxes on EVERYTHING. So guess what?  I will just no longer deal with the USA. I won't even be able to go Camping there because they are starting to tear our cars apart. It has now happened to 4 people I know who have been crossing the border for 30 years without issue. Our School sports teams will no longer be able to go across to play against the little rural schools in Curlew and Republic. No more field trips to Silver-wood and Spokane. The customs officers are not to blame and they may choose to ignore these stupid rules. 
 I can still get stuff direct from China free shipping to my door and no taxes. I really truly feel sorry for America. You're majorly being screwed by your government.