In a somewhat surprising admission, Bill White told Evan Smith of The Texas Tribune last week that Texas needs to start collecting taxes on Internet sales. Of course, the only real surprise is that he came out with it before the election.
During the interview (18:15 mark), Mr. White says, “It’s just a fact, that there’s many goods that are going to be sold and bought on the Internet, and if you go down to a store you pay the sales tax. If you get it on the Internet, there’s widespread non-compliance. As more and more sales take place over the Internet, then you’re going to see a disparity…”
To rectify the so-called disparity, Bill White says, “that will take some action with other states.”
When asked if he supports an Internet Sales Tax, Bill White tries to rationalize his tax-hike position by saying, “We already have that tax, it’s just not collected.”
However, when pressed further by the host, White finally said he supports “Collection of the tax, and also, Evan, federal law that would be compatible.”
So he admits the state is not currently entitled to the tax without new federal action.
Don’t be tricked by Bill White’s word games. His new tax scheme (or “revenue stream”) would stifle Internet and e-Commerce, which is one of the few bastions of free-market innovation, and has been beneficial to both consumers and sellers.
NOTE: This story was originally posted at www.BillWhiteForTAXES.com