To the editor:
Congress will soon be taking up the issue of forcing mail-order businesses to charge sales tax on out-of-state sales. This is a bad idea.The increased paperwork and cost of new accounting procedures will cause some struggling small-business owners to give up and go out of business.
Many people who buy items via mail order will not purchase those things at all if the cost is increased. The state will gain no tax dollars, and a business will have lost the sale.
Mail-order businesses currently have a balanced set of advantages and disadvantages when compared to retail outlets. Mail-order shops don't need a showroom, and they usually don't collect out-of-state tax.
The balancing difficulties are that you can't browse through the store, and you are forced to talk over the phone to make purchases and resolve problems. Taking away one of the few advantages of mail order will hurt business a great deal for those companies.
We should be doing everything possible to encourage small business, helping the economy grow instead of finding new ways to tax people and dampen commerce. The proposed tax change is just another tax increase that will give states a temporary increase in funds. The additional funds do not justify the loss of businesses that will occur.
John M. Olsen
Orem