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Internet Tax
Threatens to
Bury More Utah
Businesses!
(Alert for 6/21/04
— Last updated on 7/7/04)
Update for 7/7/04: The legislature voted in their
recent "emergency" session to delay the tax on Internet
sales for one year (see
SB 3001). Consistent with their tax and spend
philosophy, they refused to eliminate the costly tax
altogether. Learn more and contact your senator and
representative to voice your disapproval for their cowardice
below.
Summary:
SB 147 S1, passed in 2003, is
a 208-page, complex bill that drastically altered Utah's
sales tax laws — targeting out-of-state Internet and catalog
sales and subjecting Utahns to a dangerous new web of
bureaucratic regulation. Take action to ward off this tax
nightmare.
Topics:
1. Businesses Begin
to Pay the Price
2. TAKE ACTION!
1.
Businesses Begin to Pay the Price
Utah businesses are already
beginning to pay the heavy price of complying with
Senate
Bill 147 S1, passed in the 2003 session (see the
original legislative alert on this bill). Some
businesses,
such as RC Willey, have reportedly spent tens of thousands
of dollars to purchase and implement software to track the new
complex taxes. Many Utah businesses will likely not be able to
afford the weighty price tag of compliance.
Governor Olene Walker and many
legislators now fear the political backlash and desire to hold
an "emergency session" to delay the implementation of the new
tax. Howard Stephenson, senator and president of the Utah
Taxpayers Association, recently stated:
"These taxes were not
understood by legislators or the general public [when the
bill was passed]."
Source: "Special
session planned to revamp sales-tax bill," Dan Harrie,
Salt Lake Tribune, June 17, 2004.
Unfortunately, Stephenson,
who has a dismal record on taxes and spend issues, also
voted for SB 147 S1. When Stephenson learned later that SB 147
S1 would bring in $100 million less than projected by the Utah
State Tax Commission, he stated incredulously: "Is
that all?"
Again, as was implied in the
original legislative alert we posted on SB 147 S1, with
leadership like this, who needs statists?
Back to Topics
2. TAKE ACTION!
Utah is now the 7th highest
taxed state in America. If the legislature can delay the
implementation of
SB 147 S1 for yet another year, it is
further proof that they never needed the tax in the first
place.
Citizens, particularly business
owners and those who rely upon employment in the private
sector, need to wake up and vigorously resist the many burdens
being heaped upon them by a runaway legislature. We recommend
the following actions:
1. Call (and, if possible,
fax and email) the following officials:
Please inform us of any
responses you receive at
info@accountabilityutah.org.
2. Forward this message
to your family, friends, and any activists you know. Encourage
them to voice their concerns and get involved.
3. Volunteer to help flier
the districts of tax-and-spend officials by e-mailing us
at
info@accountabilityutah.org.
4. Monitor this site for
new and updated information and join our alert list by
e-mailing us at
info@accountabilityutah.org.
Back to Topics
Accountability Utah
recipe: Take our information and opinion, research their
information and opinion (if it is available), and then examine
the law and draw your own conclusions. For more information on
similar issues, see the
Taxes &
Spending section of our Issues &
Alerts page.
If you have comments or suggestions, please
email us at info@accountabilityutah.org.
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