The talks in Washington DC to avert the "fiscal cliff" are all about the federal government -- and how to change federal taxes and spending in a way that the White House and House Republicans can live with.
But with federal leaders considering tax policy, they should think hard about the states -- and a way to help the California state budget.
One way is legislation that would permit states to force Internet retailers -- even and especially those out of state -- to collect state sales tax.
You've probably read about Amazon's decision to cut a deal with California and collect such sales tax on online purchases.
But state officials say that other online retailers -- those who, unlike Amazon, don't have a physical presence in the state -- still aren't collecting the tax. Californians who purchase goods online are required to pay use tax instead, but few do.
Estimates are that the state of California would get a significant boost in revenues -- upwards of $1 billion -- if the federal government permitted states to collect sales tax on those on-line purchases made by Californians.
It's an issue the feds should be discussing as they figure out how to avoid the fiscal cliff.
U.S. & World
Lead Prop Zero blogger Joe Mathews is California editor at Zocalo Public Square, a fellow at Arizona State University’s Center for Social Cohesion, and co-author of California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How We Can Fix It (University of California, 2010).
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