Tax on out-of-state purchases unfair
The premise of the recent front page article, “State says Web isn't tax-free,” is ridiculous. Collecting sales tax on items purchased on the Web when the seller does not have a physical presence in Illinois is patently unfair.
What's next? Are Illinoisans who vacation in Canada, Mexico or Europe obligated to pay Illinois sales tax on their purchases? And what about county, city or suburban sales taxes? Will those governmental bodies also demand their share of taxes?
When I visit relatives out of state, do I owe Illinois tax on purchases I've made during those visits in addition to the taxes levied by those states? I've already found myself in this tax-levying situation twice. The first time was when I was a resident of Chicago but purchased a car from a Skokie automobile dealer; I received a letter stating I owed city tax on the car. I paid it; what choice did I have? The second time was regarding the mail-order purchase of cigarettes from an Indian reservation in New Mexico. Apparently there were so many Illinois residents purchasing from this vendor that our state informed the vendor that it must add Illinois tax as well as county, city or suburban tax (as applicable) to the purchase price and then remit these taxes back to Illinois.
Final question: How much will it cost to try to enforce this unfair law? Get real, Illinois. People don't purchase online to avoid paying Illinois tax; they do it because it's convenient. Sure, Illinois needs the money, but trying to get residents to keep track of their Web purchases and voluntarily pay Illinois tax is a pipe dream — and a nightmare for residents. This is one law that should be stricken from the books, but I guess that's a pipe dream, too.
Judith A. Carlson
Des Plaines