Marco Rubio Is Right – Internet Sales Tax Is A Money Grab

Mandeville, LA – Exclusive Transcript – So Marco Rubio, the senator from Florida, issues this statement last night: “The Internet sales tax is a money grab by tax-hungry states that will burden small business.”  Everything is a money grab by tax-hungry states.  If it’s not a money grab by tax-hungry states, it’s a money grab by tax-hungry federales.  At the end of the day, we’re all having our money grabbed.  I just wish it felt better, don’t you?  Check out today’s transcript for the rest…

 

Begin Mike Church Show Transcript

Mike:  So Marco Rubio, the senator from Florida, issues this statement last night: “The Internet sales tax is a money grab by tax-hungry states that will burden small business.”  Everything is a money grab by tax-hungry states.  If it’s not a money grab by tax-hungry states, it’s a money grab by tax-hungry federales.  At the end of the day, we’re all having our money grabbed.  I just wish it felt better, don’t you?  We’re all having our money grabbed by tax-hungry State entities.  This is what is disturbing about this.  What is a concern to me is the idea here that somehow it is good for economics or it is good for the financial wellbeing of people in business that you should remove from circulation that which we exchange for goods and services, money.  That’s what an increase in the sales tax is going to do.  It will turn it over to the states.  This hurts everyone.  From where I sit, the proper position of the National Retail Federation, if it is not going to sit at the table and make deals with big government and therefore be an adjunct of big government, the proper position is: We do not advocate any sales tax in any state.  We oppose all of them. 

Why is no one saying: Okay, mister brick-and-mortar retailer, we understand the case you’re making, that you’re getting clobbered because your competition isn’t paying four percent sales tax on purchases made online.  We understand your gripe.  The remedy is not to make everyone equally miserable then.  The remedy ought to be to work toward making everyone equally happier.  In other words, why do we have sales taxes to start with?  I found an amazing history of the sales tax, “Sales Tax: History of a Dumb Idea” by Mason Gaffney.  This guy is a professor of economics out at Berkeley.  He wrote this in March of 2005.  It’s a wonderful essay.  I didn’t know 90 percent of what was contained in it.  I was reading along and chuckling and saying: That’s great information I need to bring to the audience tomorrow, and I will.

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Marco Rubio releases this late last night:

[reading]

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued the following statement regarding this evening’s vote on the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act.

“The Internet sales tax is a terrible idea that will crush small businesses with the new burden of having to collect taxes from their out-of-state consumers. The Internet sales tax is nothing more than a money grab by tax-hungry state and local governments that are desperate for more revenue because they refuse to cut spending. [Mike: That’s what’s at the crux of all this. That’s what ought to bother you.]

 

“As far as job-killing taxes go, the Internet sales tax is the worst kind because, rather than only take the hard-earned money of small businesses, it imposes more complications and burdens for businesses to comply with. [Mike: For once Rubio is actually correct and I agree with him.]

“To illustrate how bad an idea this Internet sales tax is, if it ever becomes law, it will force businesses in Florida to collect sales taxes imposed by over 9,000 jurisdictions throughout the U.S. That means companies will be forced to spend more time and money figuring all of this out and making sure they send the right amount to each state and municipality where their consumers reside. The more companies are burdened with new mandates like this, the less time and money they have to grow their businesses and create new jobs.”

[end reading]

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Mike:  Bingo!  Rubio is actually square and right on the money for once on this one.  Some of the interesting history of the sales tax, kings have actually been beheaded after passing sales taxes.  By the by, when you hear the term “no taxation without representation” and you apply it to Samuel Adams, the Sons of Liberty, the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution, what you are actually hearing is a revolt against what?  Sales taxes.  It was a sales tax on tea.  It was a sales tax on sugar.  There was a sales tax on paper products.  There were sales taxes on all manner of things that were proposed and implemented.  This is what drove the colonists bonkers, then colonists, soon to be residents of the United States.

When you think about the American Revolution at the beginning of it, it was a reaction and a very negative reaction to sales taxes.  Here we are listening to our political class telling us that sales taxes are going to save us.  What is very disgusting about this is these people that are masquerading around as some sort of retail heroes that are out there promoting the sales tax as the great equalizer, the sales tax as the great generator, the sales tax as the great repairer of all economics.  Just think of the silliness of that and how dumb of an idea that is.  Again, I’m going to rephrase this.  In the aggregate, this means less money for all retailers.  It doesn’t level any playing field.  It puts the State in the driver’s seat.  Perhaps that’s the goal of these things.  Now you’ve got the way paved.  Herman Cain had a pretty good idea with that 9-9-9 thing.  We already passed the Marketplace Fairness Act.  We’ve already cleared legal hurdles to a national sales tax.  Why don’t we get in on the action?  It’s just a bad, dumb idea all around. 

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Again, I come from the standpoint that I would, from a principled position, rather see an end to all sales taxes, consumption taxes as they’re known.  The United States government basically existed off of duties, imposts, excises, and tariffs for over 120 years.  There was no manner of sales tax.  Many of your states and localities existed off of the same kinds of revenue sources or property taxes, because a sales tax has always been a political liability.  You put your name on a dotted line as being for it and your name may be on another dotted line in the very near future.

End Mike Church Show Transcript