JohanSebatianGremlin

abacab
Another question I have, is will this have less of an impact on companies operating outside of the USA?
 
For example, say I'm in the USA and make a purchase from a company in the EU.  What legal recourse will my state have over a company in Germany that sells me something online?

Well everything coming in has to clear customs and I believe the shipper has to declare the value of the item in the shipping documents. Customs already holds items in cases where tariffs need to be collected or sometimes they release the item to the post office who collects the tariff before handing the package over. I see no reason why the same couldn't be done for state sales tax. Especially if customs and/or the post office was allowed to tack a processing fee on top for themselves.

Last time I checked there was no US Customs inspection for my downloaded bits from the EU.  In any case, most of the small plugin shops don't ship any hardware. 
 
Hardware manufacturers and music equipment retailers may be a different story, as to the point you have made.
 
Maybe I wasn't entirely clear in my post that I was referring to software only (in other words why would I be ordering hardware from overseas + international shipping costs?). 

abacab
 
Maybe I wasn't entirely clear in my post that I was referring to software only (in other words why would I be ordering hardware from overseas + international shipping costs?). 

Why wouldn't you? I get things shipped in all the time. Some things are only available from overseas suppliers. But yeah fair point about purely electronic/digital transactions. I can't imagine any practical way to monitor/enforce those sorts of transactions with off-shore vendors.

JohanSebatianGremlin

Why wouldn't you? I get things shipped in all the time. Some things are only available from overseas suppliers.

Yup, I can imagine we are rather spoiled here in the states, regarding international manufacturers.  I cannot think of any that do not have a domestic distributor for their product.  If you cannot find it at Guitar Center, Sam Ash, or Sweetwater, it probably doesn't exist, LOL!

abacabI cannot think of any that do not have a domestic distributor for their product.  If you cannot find it at Guitar Center, Sam Ash, or Sweetwater, it probably doesn't exist, LOL!

Yeah, no. Try to find a US based source for a Sonar overlay for a Mackie Control. You won't. If you want to buy one today, you're importing it from Germany. Period. 

abacab
2. Use an ecommerce and payments provider to facilitate all sales transactions in the USA, such as Digital River or Amazon, or something like that.  There are probably a few that cater to small businesses.  This is probably the safest solution, but one that might put a dent in the profits or survival of those barely staying afloat.

Amazon --- sorry, but not really much help at all (emphasis added below) unless there is some other service available that I missed suggested by item ii) immediately below.  Is there actually such a service for ALL jurisdictions?
 
"Tax policies

"As between the parties, you will be responsible for the collection and payment of any and all of Your Taxes, except to the extent that (i) Amazon automatically calculates, collects, or remits taxes on your behalf according to applicable law (Washington, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma ONLY - DC)  (for more information, see Marketplace Tax Collection FAQ); or (ii) Amazon expressly agrees to receive taxes or other transaction-based charges on your behalf in connection with tax calculation services made available by Amazon and used by you. Any and all fees payable by you pursuant to this Agreement are exclusive of all sales, use, and similar taxes, and you will pay any taxes that are imposed and payable on such amounts. All payments made by you to Amazon under this Agreement will be made free and clear of any deduction or withholding (including but not limited to cross-border withholding taxes), as may be required by law. If any such deduction or withholding is required on any payment, you will pay such additional amounts as are necessary so that the net amount received by Amazon is equal to the amount then due and payable under this Agreement.

"Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement (Washington, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma ONLY - DC), you agree that Amazon is not obligated to determine whether taxes apply, and Amazon is not responsible to collect, report, or remit any taxes arising from any transaction.  However, if a taxing authority requires us to pay any of your taxes, you will promptly reimburse us for the amounts paid. If the product is shipped from outside your elected country, the recipient of the product may be required to pay, upon delivery, an amount related to assessed sales, goods and services, use, excise, import, value added, or other taxes or duties. Such taxes or duties, if any, are in addition to the sales proceeds collected by Amazon."


Source:
 
https://sellercentral.ama...820&language=en_US
 
https://sellercentral.ama...T2M58CP_cont_200405820
 
Regards,
Dave Clark
 
PS: In looking at this a bit more, it appears that Amazon is, upon request, able to calculate and collect sales and use taxes for states and provinces and remit those amounts to the vendor to pay and report, provided that the vendor sets everything up themselves. This is still not much help.  The vendor still must register in each state and province, set all the rates, and must still pay and report the taxes collected for each state and province.  It's not really any different than Shopify and WooCommerce.

What about us private sellers? Reverb and E-Bay may need to distinguish between sellers like me who are truly using their service like a garage sale add. Then there are those who operate like a pawn shop who do charge taxes at their brick and mortar establishments but not on their online sales - And then there are other true commercial sellers who use reverb and E-bay simply because of customer exposure and are operating tax free. One thing for sure - this is way beyond the current crop of simpletons in charge - there may be a need of actual critical thinking. Good luck on that. This is going to come down to strict definitions between sellers selling their own personal goods and those who are buying and re-selling strictly for the profit. It may distinguish between a true bid system or make an offer system like Reverb uses.

There is no way to discuss details at this point.  SCOTUS has cleared the path for the states, but the states now need to craft and enact (pass) their own actual legislation to make this into something we can talk about.
 
Until then it's all speculation

there probably will be a 'safe harbor' where those under a certain amount will be exempt.  But 'safe harbors' this year are next years felonies!
 
 

BobF  SCOTUS

i read that as "SCROTUS"

dmbaer

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.

Actually, I'm with you.  You gotta remember that local taxes pay for police, fire department, roads, schools etc.