Warning: Constant ABSPATH already defined in /home/flanews/public_html/wp-config.php on line 34
Capitol News Service » Blog Archive

Welcome to

Capitol News Service

Florida's Best Political Coverage on Television

 


 


 


Recent Posts

RSS Quote of the Day

  • Charles Baudelaire
    "Everything that is beautiful and noble is the product of reason and calculation."
  • Wilson Mizner
    "The best way to keep your friends is not to give them away."
  • Benjamin Disraeli
    "Silence is the mother of truth."
  • H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
    "Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness."

Collecting What’s Owed

January 12th, 2010 by flanews

Florida is losing an estimated two billion dollars every year because some online stores don’t collect state sales tax. Legislation has been filed to make it easier for sellers to know what to tax and for buyers to know what they owe. As Whitney Ray tells us, the problem is most online shoppers don’t even know they owe it.

Amanda Grout spends hundreds of dollars online buying books and clothes. She pays the vendor, but doesn’t pay the state on purchases made from stores without a location in Florida.

“I’m not going to go out of my way to go fill out all these forms mail them in to pay more money. The only way I would do it is if they set it up on EBay or the website and forced me to do it,” said Amanda.

Right now online shoppers have to visit the Department of Revenues website, download a tax form, list the items purchased, do the math, and mail in a check. State lawmakers want to make paying the tax easier.

“This is not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do,” said Representative Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, the House sponsor of the legislation.

Bipartisan legislation is being introduced to align Florida’s tax code with the tax codes of 44 other states. By redefining taxable items experts say it would be easier for online shops to know what to collect.

“We believe Florida will begin to collect several million dollars, maybe 10’s of millions, 20, possible 30 million dollars on an annual basis and rising,” said Dominic Calabro, the President of Florida TaxWatch.

Paying the tax would still be voluntary, although getting a plan in place could persuade Congress to adopt legislation forcing online stores to collect.

The online sales tax is owned four times a year. The due day coincides with the end of each fiscal quarter. The link to the DR15MO form is http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/forms/2009/dr15mo.pdf

Posted in State Budget, State News, Taxes | No Comments »

Leave a Comment

Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.

copyright © 2016 by Capitol News Service | Powered by Wordpress | Hosted by LyonsHost.com