Ann Whitley Wood, an eBay Platinum Power Seller, responds to an article in the Dallas Morning News about the potential harms caused by Internet taxes on small businesses.  Ms. Wood writes:

Consider how a new sales tax scheme requiring small online retailers to comply with thousands of state and local tax jurisdictions could devastate Texas small-business retailers who use the Internet to reach customers around the country.  Adding new tax burdens to these small businesses will kill jobs and reduce retail competition.

I have had a business on eBay for 10 years, and I sell all over the country. It is only fair that I remit sales tax in Texas. But a requirement to remit sales tax in thousands of other jurisdictions would be an extreme, possibly lethal, strain on my business. It is also unfair because I do not use the services of those states, unlike large retailers, who have a presence in most states.

Because there is never anything simple about taxes, there will never be a simple way for small sellers to collect taxes in thousands of jurisdictions.

This is a time when our legislators should focus on keeping jobs and creating new ones, not creating new taxes.

Ann Whitley Wood, Dallas