The debate over the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act is not about a level playing field. It is an attempt by politicians to grab more tax revenue to facilitate bigger government.
It’s not unusual, of course, to find that politicians want more of our money. Heck, that’s a dog-bites-man story. What makes this situation so unusual, however, is that they’re trying to reach outside their borders to grab more money.
Here’s what you need to know. Some states impose very high sales taxes, and politicians get irked that some consumers avoid the taxes by using the Internet to buy products from out-of-state merchants. But rather than go after in-state consumers, they want to create an elaborate and intrusive system to force out-of-state merchants to act as tax collectors.
Talk about taxation without representation!
To understand why this is a radical step, imagine if you took a trip to Las Vegas and played blackjack, but then got arrested when you returned home because your state doesn’t allow gambling. That would be an outrage because a state only has sovereign power to enforce laws (good ones or bad ones) on things that take place within its borders. And it would be equally outrageous if state governments tried to force Las Vegas casinos to discriminate against non-Nevada residents.
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