Saturday, May 11, 2013

Follow the money.

Governor Haley Barbour apparently grew in office, as he changed his mind and supported an internet sales tax in his farewell speech as Governor. CL reporter Jimmie Gates and other media were beside themselves as they saw a Republican supporting new taxes. Mr. Gates recently wrote:

"Before leaving office, then-Gov. Haley Barbour, who had opposed any kind of new taxes, changed his stance and said he supported allowing states to collect sales tax on online purchases. His soon-to-be-successor, then Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, however, was opposed, saying at the time through his spokesman that he was “not in favor of raising anyone’s taxes in these tough economic times.”

Principled conservative changing his mind? Nope. More like conservative selling out his principles oops, I meant representing his paying client. The Wall Street Journal reported:

"Pushing for the legislation are traditional retailers, small and large, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., WMT +0.63% which has its headquarters in Mr. Womack's district; Amazon.com Inc., AMZN +1.33% the online retailer that is expanding its physical presence across the country; and state and local officials from both parties.

More than 100 entities have disclosed they are lobbying specifically on the Internet sales-tax legislation. Amazon has hired two high-profile former senators, Democrat John Breaux and Republican Trent Lott, to represent it specifically on the sales-tax issue. Amazon paid the two former senators and their firm, Patton Boggs LLP, $220,000 in the first quarter of 2013, according to public disclosure records.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association, a trade group, hired former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, to lobby in favor of the legislation. The group has paid his firm more than $250,000 since the beginning of 2012
."

Guess the local media forgot to add that little fact to their reporting. Puts a little bit different spin on it, doesn't it?

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good old media, not letting the facts get in the way of a good story.

Anonymous said...

It seems impossible for the Guv-mints to obtain adequate/satisfactory revenue. For the small business it is difficult if not impossible to reduce budgets/cost. Neither can they compete with the buying power of the large conglomerates. The politicos preach about the benefits small business provides in jobs and revenue, but it seems they would prefer they be employed in a "real job". Small business doesn't have the manpower or resources to gain the favortism of government or politicians. People would do well to support local, independent businesses, order for them to improve their local economies and communities.

Anonymous said...

I fixed this,just a little word substitution.

It seems impossible for the politicians to obtain adequate/satisfactory revenue. For the small time politician it is difficult if not impossible to reduce budgets/cost. Neither can they compete with the buying power of the large politicians. The businesses preach about the benefits small politicians provides in jobs and revenue, but it seems they would prefer they be employed in a "real job". Small politicians doesn't have the manpower or resources to gain the favortism of large politicians or businesses. People would do well to support local, independent politicians, order for them to improve their local economies and communities.

Anonymous said...

So, Haley Barbour is a corporate socialist, nothing new here, he always knew that he could get what he needed from Mississippi, because in the land of the blind, the one-eyed guy is King!!!

Anonymous said...

Sorta like Obamacare ~ The devil is in the details and quite impossible to administer. If I make forty birdhouses in my garage and sell six of them to some guy in Oregon, online, it would cost me more than the tax involved to figure out how to collect and pay the tax to the state of Oregon, not to mention determining what proof I need to maintain and for how long, and the related hassle. Or I could obey the proposed law by collecting it and break the law by not paying it to Oregon.

Anonymous said...

3:51,

See, that's where you're wrong. Amazon is supposed to have some whiz bang software that figures out all those pesky taxes for you. Which is half the reason they are pursuing (aggressively) this legislation.

The other half has to do with their planned expansion of warehouses.

Thanks a lot, Lott!

Bill Dees said...

These taxes, called "use taxes", are already imposed by existing law, and owed to the State by every internet purchaser. The problem is that internet purchasers aren't paying the tax. The Marketplace Fairness Act is simply a mechanism for collecting an existing tax. Get over it.

Anonymous said...

Dees, how many dollars in taxes did you self-report during the last 5 years for online purchases where sales tax was not collected by the seller?

Get over yourself.

Bill Dees said...

My point exactly. Voluntary payment of sales taxes just doesn't work. It needs to be collected at the point of sale, just like at your brick and mortar store.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes when a President appoints somweone to the judicial bench, the person they appoint changes their political leanings. Same here with Haley. He "WAS" a conservative his whole life, so he says, now he isnt. . A Gov of a state of about 3 million comparing himself to a President of 360 million and Pardoning 200 convicts and claimimg precedent because some former Presidents did that many is dillusional. Pardoning 4 MURDERERS and buying 2 of them cars is just sick. Now HALEY is for more taxes. People can fool you. Haley is the ultimate political CON MAN. He is no different than former Gov of Florida Charlie Christ. It happens and we Republicans just have to get used to it....our former GOP GOV is a DEMOCRAT!!!

Anonymous said...

Dees is a hypocrite. There is a mechanism in place to self-report+pay and he voluntarily chooses to break the law.

No Tax Expert - But Bill Is A Dunce said...

Not only is Bill a hypocrite, but he's wrong when he says payment of these taxes is owed on every internet purchase. They are only owed when the shipper has a nexus in the state from which ordered. That leaves out some 75% of all online purchases.

Bill Dees said...

@No Tax Expert-- WRONG!! Taxes are COLLECTED on internet purchases when the seller has a sufficient nexus to the State. That's a sales tax. I'm talking about use tax. Look it up.

Anonymous said...

One would be a fool to pay a use tax, as is required, in most of those situations. If I drive into Louisiana and buy a set of '54 Chevy hubcaps at a craft fair I'm supposed to pay a use tax. If I order a bikini online for my friend-girl, I'm supposed to pay a use tax. Ain't happenin' Mr. Dees. It's nonsense.

Anonymous said...

so.....does this mean that y'all finally figgered out what guv'nah slobbermouth really meant when he announced immediately after taking office that "mis'sippi is now open for bidness!"....the fact that he picked charlie williams as his chief-of-staff should have been your first clue

nothing new here, nothing to see, move along....

Anonymous said...

I'd challenge anyone to find a politician whose decisions do lead back to "the money." They are all the same but manage to keep their blind followers marching right along behind them.

Anonymous said...

I don't know tax law, but I do shop and for decades, if I bought ladies apparel at either a boutique or one of the well known national stores known for fashion, if they shipped it to me, I didn't pay sales tax. If I took it with me , I was charged sales tax.
I always supposed it was a way of encouraging tourists to make purchases.

I now shop almost entirely online for health reasons. Baby boomers like myself are still a huge market but are aging and more and more are doing the same. That is a loss of sales tax revenue. Young people are too busy to shop , the hours Americans work are increasing and now wives work rather than are the primary consumers.

But, I think this post is more about Haley Barbour's character rather than a sales tax in a changing retail market.

The party affliation of many in a party of is one of convenience and self-interest. I have more confidence that a Republican in Massachusetts and a white Democrat in Mississippi actually believes what they are saying they believe.

All of you knew or should have known that Haley Barbour owned a lobbying firm. He represented his client's desires and interest even if they were not in the interest of our Nation for profit.

Lobbying firms and political strategists once were hired simply based on their access and skills respectively without reguard to political affliation. Their philosophical loyalty was never part of the job. They had to be comfortable with situational ethics.

That Haley is a person of situational or convenient ethics rather than someone with a consistent , well thought out philosophical point of view should not be a surprise to anyone.

What is surprising is how many of you believe your politicians based on their ability to spout party dogma. You don't look past their party affliation to their past behaviors and personal decisions. And, despite changes in party positions over the years on issues simply so the party could win, you still believe their is some basic philosophical purity at play.

Follow the money, honey.

Anonymous said...

Don't worry. Bill Dees has no intention of paying any taxes, even if required by law, unless everyone else is forced to pay. He is the epitome of a 'do as I say, not as I do' liberal.

Anonymous said...

Someone slid in a not-so-nice reference to Charlie Williams. I've always known him to be quite an honorable and capable man, one who ought to still be in politics and leadership. If you know otherwise, spit it out.

PS: I ain't never bought women's apparel online.

Bill Dees said...

If the Marketplace Fairness Act passed, it likely would generate enough new revenue in Mississippi to enable the State to add the 300,000 or so very poor folks who do not presently qualify for the program to the Medicaid Program, without raising taxes one single penny. That's a very good thing. Oh, and 8:30 AM? Tax avoidance is the patriotic duty of every citizen. Tax evasion is a crime.

Anonymous said...

Bill Dees comes up with the strangest damned assumptions that he passes off as fact.

Paul Maczka said...

Tax audits and the collection of use taxes from small business is a favorite target of MDR. Meanwhile small business's that do the majority of their business with in state customers are required to collect and pay sales tax. On line retailers should have the same burden to collect and pay sales tax as everybody else.

Bill Dees said...

I heard on the local news that passage of the Act would generate in excess of $600,000,000 over 5 years in Mississippi. That was a projection by the Mississippi State Tax Commission.

Anonymous said...

Is that the same agency that year after year can't figure out how to timely cut refund checks and every year for the past ten has issued a press release stating 'again this year refund checks will be delayed'? And that's who Bill Dees goes to for accuracy in estimates.

Bee-Fuddled said...

Paul Maczka must be an accountant. Who, but one, would advocate such madness? Accountants would love passage of that Bullshit almost as much as employment law attorneys are loving Obamacare and the millions they'll make hosting seminars to explain it.



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