Post by robeiae on Dec 29, 2020 8:03:54 GMT -5
Another "member when" moment: back in 2010-2012, New Jersey pols (and Chris Christie, well-known capitalist douche) tried to seize the balances of all unused gift cards. Literally. As it became clear that this was actually what was happening (and somehow, Christie seemed to think it was fair), people couldn't believe it. It seemed like simple theft to a lot of people.
Que California: www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-12-28/california-online-sales-tax-retroactive-collection
This unconscionable, imo. Who is calling the shots at the CDTFA? This is just another naked money grab by a state agency.
Que California: www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-12-28/california-online-sales-tax-retroactive-collection
This month the CDTFA froze Rubinas’ business bank account in Illinois in an effort to collect thousands of dollars in taxes on sales that Lollipop Seeds made to California shoppers through Amazon.com in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The freeze threatens to push Lollipop Seeds out of business.
[snip]
For about two years, advocates of small business say, the agency has been dunning out-of-state retailers that sold through Amazon’s marketplace prior to 2019, when Amazon started collecting sales taxes on those transactions — and seeking to collect taxes on sales from as far back as 2012. A trade association for those sellers has sued, accusing the agency of an unconstitutional overreach and unlawful discrimination.
The CDTFA’s mission is important, overseeing taxes that support schools, public safety and other essential services. And out-of-state online sellers that don’t collect sales taxes have an unfair advantage over in-state stores that do. That’s why state lawmakers around the country sought for years to force Amazon and other online retailers to collect sales taxes, ultimately leading the Supreme Court in 2018 to overturn decades-old precedents and let states require companies outside their borders to collect and remit taxes on sales to people inside their borders.
California did so through a law enacted in 2019. But the CDTFA argues that retailers that relied on Amazon to store and ship their goods are liable for taxes even before then, dating back to the first day any of their products were stored by Amazon in a California warehouse — even though Amazon is managing the entire process through its “Fulfillment by Amazon” program.
In its lawsuit, the Online Merchants Guild argues that the duty to collect those taxes should have fallen on Amazon, which acts as a virtual consignment store and should have been treated that way. But state tax officials gave the company a pass from 2012 to 2019, creating a hole that the CDTFA is trying to fill by retroactively taxing companies like Lollipop Seeds.
[snip]
For about two years, advocates of small business say, the agency has been dunning out-of-state retailers that sold through Amazon’s marketplace prior to 2019, when Amazon started collecting sales taxes on those transactions — and seeking to collect taxes on sales from as far back as 2012. A trade association for those sellers has sued, accusing the agency of an unconstitutional overreach and unlawful discrimination.
The CDTFA’s mission is important, overseeing taxes that support schools, public safety and other essential services. And out-of-state online sellers that don’t collect sales taxes have an unfair advantage over in-state stores that do. That’s why state lawmakers around the country sought for years to force Amazon and other online retailers to collect sales taxes, ultimately leading the Supreme Court in 2018 to overturn decades-old precedents and let states require companies outside their borders to collect and remit taxes on sales to people inside their borders.
California did so through a law enacted in 2019. But the CDTFA argues that retailers that relied on Amazon to store and ship their goods are liable for taxes even before then, dating back to the first day any of their products were stored by Amazon in a California warehouse — even though Amazon is managing the entire process through its “Fulfillment by Amazon” program.
In its lawsuit, the Online Merchants Guild argues that the duty to collect those taxes should have fallen on Amazon, which acts as a virtual consignment store and should have been treated that way. But state tax officials gave the company a pass from 2012 to 2019, creating a hole that the CDTFA is trying to fill by retroactively taxing companies like Lollipop Seeds.
This unconscionable, imo. Who is calling the shots at the CDTFA? This is just another naked money grab by a state agency.