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  • Feb 15th, 2011 @ 10:33am

    (untitled comment)

    Borders bookstore to file for bankruptcy.
    Jobs at stake: 19,000

    Amazon to close Irving,TX distribution center.
    Jobs lost: 119

    Does anyone connect the dots ?

    Borders, like bookstores everywhere, have been facing the sales tax headwind as a competitive handicap for years vs. Amazon.
  • Feb 15th, 2011 @ 10:32am

    Amazon sales tax/ Texas

    Like girlie man Schwarzenegger, Rick Perry, gov. of the "Don't Mess" state is kowtowing to the bullying tactics of Amazon.

    The proper venue where this should be addressed is Washington, but in the present political climate anything labeled "Tax" will be regarded as Toxic for the political careers of our elected officials. Even if Washington were to resurrect the “Sales Tax Fairness and Simplification Act,” H.R. 3396 which died on the vine in the last congress, it only gives the force of law to states which enacted the “Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement” which 24 states have so far passed. But Texas hasn’t yet. So, state legislators should focus on this step first.

    Big box retail and their commercial real-estate landlords must regard the present competitive handicap from online competitors as an existential threat and crank up their lobbying efforts.

    An outfit called Alliance for Main Street Fairness (StandWithMainStreet.com) has been formed recently to lobby to end the present online sales tax loophole.

    As a tactic to bring the issue to a speedier resolution, I suggestions the following:
    For the major brick & mortar retailers who also have online operations, if they reorganize their online efforts copying the Amazon playbook of "Entity Isolation" to dodge the "Nexus" issue so they too can dodge the responsibility of collecting sales tax, the states will then face the specter of revenues drying up in a major way and this tactic will raise the political profile and urgency of this issue.

    This joke illustrates the pathetic lack of urgency by the states & the brick & mortar victims:

    A dog is lying on the porch whining softly.
    A passerby asks the owner what is wrong with the dog.
    "thar’s a nail stickin’ up outta da porch tha’ he’s laying on.”
    "Why doesn't he move?"
    “Donno. I reckon it don’ hurt bad enough.”

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