Now Job Killing Taxes are “Good?” Republicans Flip Flop on Taxes, Praise Internet Tax they’ve Blocked for years.

Whatever is convenient I guess. With so many struggling Republican governors, isn't it an odd coincidence they're now interested in the online tax?

It took a while to find some “justification” to make a tax increase a good thing, even at the risk of offending Grover Norquist. Republicans are now on board with what is normally described as a job killing tax...on internet sales.

In Wisconsin, Republicans were sudden converts because they “justified” the increase by promising to lower personal state income taxes by the same amount. See, they cut taxes again folks…(whisper) by raising taxes. It's down the rabbit hole again.

But raising taxes kills jobs? Well, not anymore:

Reuters: Legislation to allow U.S. states to collect sales taxes on purchases made online is garnering support from both sides … with a leading conservative economist saying on Thursday the tax would foster growth and job creation. Arthur Laffer, a former chief economist at the White House Office of Management and Budget best known for the "Laffer Curve" relating tax rates and revenues, released a study estimating states will lose out on annual revenues of between $27 billion and $33 billion by 2022 without Internet sales taxes.

The following labored reason is almost (laff)able:

"All taxes are bad. Some are a lot worse than others. And governments need to collect the requisite revenues to carry out their functions," Laffer told reporters on a call.

Dumb Ron Johnson wants taxpayers to give businesses free software so they can charge online tax. And says Consumers don’t feel the Cost of Health Care. He really said all that!!!

Really, consumers don’t feel the cost of health care? Is there anything that says clueless more than dumb Ron Johnson's disconnect on health care? He made similar outlandish statements when he ran for the senate and the media never even coughed up a "really?" Now we're stuck with Johnson. 

Green Bay Press Gazette: Johnson said federal health care reform is taking health care in the wrong direction. He said health care’s ills date to the 1940s, when employers began adding health insurance as an employee benefit and paying for it. “We began the process of separating the consumer of the process from the payment of the process,” he said.

Johnson's horn blowing doesn't qualify as work, so he' trying to get ahead of an emerging problem:

“Let’s at least not question people’s motives. Let’s start from the premise that we all have good intentions,” Johnson said.  

And Johnson's not so free market solution to level the playing field for brick and mortar stores:

Johnson said it’s possible he’ll vote against the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would require businesses selling online to collect sales taxes for all states in which buyers reside. He said states need to provide a software package that makes the process so automatic that businesses require little expense or effort to collect and pay the taxes.

It's so much work being a good corporate citizen. And finally, this great observation from Cognitive Dissidence about Dummies disregard for cancer sufferers:

Only our dumb senator, RoJo, could come up with something as inane and insane as saying that it's American as all get out to let businesses decide who lives and dies from cancer: 

Walker proves Government is the Problem with Convoluted Online Sales Tax.

The most efficient way to pay a sales tax is at the point of purchase. It's bulletproof. 

But what if the tax is "voluntary" for online purchases, and the party in control has a "no tax" pledge? It means they can't simplify this one troublesome revenue source.

You'll also see the state government send out 3000 letters to Wisconsinites who owe sales taxes on purchases they made...get this, between 2007-2010? 

Are you kidding me? This isn't competent government management, it's a god damn nightmare. 

If the state wants the sales tax anyway, then just charge the tax at the point of sale. Doh!!!

Check out this Channel3000 jaw dropper:

Walker has decided to hunt down buyers in the state to pay up for buying out-of-state goods online, between 2007-2010. 

Channel3000: State Department of Revenue officials sent a letter to about 3,000 people in late January, urging them to pay taxes on online or out-of-state purchases made from 2007 to 2010. "This is not an audit," said Stephanie Marquis, a department spokeswoman. "It's really just an informational letter to make them aware that we believe they may have made that purchase and may owe state taxes on that purchase." Wisconsin will miss out on $62 million in uncollected use tax on online purchases, according to an informational letter from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

It’s the states fault for missing out on $62 million of online sales taxes. Instead of expanding the standard easy system of taxation we already have in place, and because of the Republican pledge to not raise taxes, it's the buyers who have to keep track of their purchases all year long. 

If they want the sales tax, why not tax online purchases? This is pure ideological lunacy? 

  

As one who believes we should tax online sales, all online sales with no out-of-state exemption for business, this Walker tactic is not just intimidating but an amazingly convoluted way to pay for corporate tax cuts, and keep their no tax pledge.

Can we fire these guys soon?