Ted Ashton writes:


-----Original Message-----
From: Ted Ashton [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2000 10:16 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: California Enacts 'Internet' Tax


Thus it was written in the epistle of Michael Berkowitz,
> It is similar, but that is a use tax that is paid directly by the consumer
> to the state, the bill in the California legislature would have dot com
> company collect the sales tax at time of sale and then forward to the
state
> taxing authority.

How can California have any authority over, say, a Michigan company?  How
can
what they vote in the CA legislature force Borders.com to start collecting
tax
and sending it to them?
--------------------------------------------------
Two things.  First California is saying that the dot.com company
headquartered out of California is a sham company and is indistinguishable
from the brick and mortar company that does business in California.  Second,
states collect sales taxes from companies not headquartered in their state
all the time.  Sears is headquartered in Illinois, but that doesn't prevent
California, nor any other state, from collecting sales tax on sales from
stores in their state.  Guess? headquartered in California collects and pays
to New York tax authorities sales taxes collected from sales in our New York
stores.

Mike Berkowitz
Guess? Inc.