MS House Considers Collecting Tax on Internet Sales to Prop Up Infrastructure
MS House Considers Collecting Tax on Internet Sales to Prop Up Infrastructure
Info Courtesy of The Associated Press
JACKSON –
Mississippi’s House voted on Wednesday to enforce existing tax law regarding the collection of taxes on internet purchases made by Mississippi residents. Under this new proposal, the revenue collected will be earmarked for road and bridge work. By a 79-38 vote, representatives passed House Bill 480, formally codifying efforts to collect taxes from Amazon.com and other vendors that sell goods to Mississippians from outside the state. 70% will go to the state, 15% to counties, and 15 percent% to cities for the infrastructure improvements.
Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, emphasized that under current state law, consumers already are supposed to pay use taxes. However, officials have said enforcement on individual consumers is nearly impossible. He emphasized that this is not a new tax, but rather, a way to collect taxes that people were supposed to have been paying all along, and to put them to good use.
Under the latest bill, retailers would be responsible for collecting the online sales taxes. Even without the law in place, Mississippi’s Department of Revenue has proposed rules to collect the taxes, and Amazon.com voluntarily agreed earlier to start collecting taxes Wednesday.
Black Friday Shopping Guide
Commodore Bob’s in Starkville does a thriving business dishing up fantastic grub at lunch and dinner, as well as a Sunday brunch for all comers. They serve plenty of locals, students, and tourists, so you’d better get there early or you might not find a seat! They and other restaurants help to keep Starkville fed and happy, and that’s Good for Business!
Roughly a hundred MSU student volunteers recently joined forces to pack and ship five thousand meals to be sent out to hungry families in Mississippi and beyond, as part of a project to help raise awareness of food insecurity.The Oxfam Hunger Banquet model was used for their pre-work meal, where students were divided up into several groups meant to proportionally represent various “income levels” and what families at those levels might find themselves eating. The smallest group by far – those randomly chosen as the “high income” group, sat down at the tables for a multi-course meal with real plates and silverware; the largest two groups – the “low income” ones, sat on the floor with paper plates, plastic forks, a mound of mashed potatoes – and precious little else. Students reportedly ate relatively little, many of them never having previously known just how bad many families in need really have it.
Info courtesy of the Dispatch
