[Politech] Headline of the day: Online sales "rob" state of taxes

From: Declan McCullagh (declan@private)
Date: Mon Nov 03 2003 - 06:39:12 PST

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    http://www.dmregister.com/business/stories/c4789010/22630343.html
    
    Online sales rob state of taxes
    Iowa Values Fund success hinges on proposed legislation
    By DONNELLE ELLER
    Assistant Business Editor
    10/30/2003
    Rich Bartlett figures he's lost 5 percent of his tobacco sales to 
    businesses that sell cigarettes online or through catalogs.
    
    "What it means in state tax dollars is probably millions," once all Iowa 
    tobacco sales are figured in, said Bartlett, owner of South Side Tobacco at 
    2432 S.W. Ninth St.
    
    Iowans' online and mail-order purchases of everything from TVs to 
    computers, books and clothing will cost the state about $180 million in 
    lost sales taxes by 2007, state officials estimate.
    
    As state and local governments sink further into financial red ink, a lot 
    is riding on an initiative to collect remote sales taxes, including the 
    future of the Iowa Values Fund created this year to spur new high-wage jobs.
    
    The fund is expected to have $503 million to spend over the next seven 
    years. The first $100 million will be federal money, but after that the 
    fund will rely on sales-tax growth expected to come in part from taxes 
    collected on Internet sales.
    
    [...]
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