Once again, the clueless at the Pravda Columbian blow the call: In our view Jan. 23: Fair Taxation

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The Pravda Columbian has been suffering for quite some time; both editorially, and financially, though chances are that the latter is primarily driven in large part by the former.

They are possessed of a former editor who uses his bully pulpit to beat anyone disagreeing with him; particularly about the Soviet Columbia River Gorge Scenic Act or the unneeded, unwanted and massive waste known as downtown redevelopment, to a pulp; a complete line of BS about the I-5 bridge replacement with its required loot rail attachment that would make Goebbels blush; and now this hypocritical rant about "Fair Taxation of Business," or "making sure that sales tax is collected on internet purchases."

All of the issues above have something in common, besides they're rank, reeking and complete hypocrisy: Koenninger, who whines the most about the Gorge, doesn't live there, and therefore, does not have to live under ANY of the restrictions he so cavalierly places on the thousands who actually DO live in the Gorge; those wildly lying about the I-5 Bridge replacement work on THIS side of he river, so they don't have to pay any of the hundreds of dollars per year they demand of the 60,000 daily commuters to get their unneeded, unwanted and wasteful bridge built; AND NO ONE PAYS A PENNY IN SALES TAX TO BUY THEIR NEWSPAPER.

You want "business fairness?" Then what say we begin charging newspapers the same sales tax we charge for everything else?

I don't see these hypocrites demanding an end to the exemption they enjoy, do you?

Not that what the have to say means much of anything, anyway; but until these hypocrites labor under the same sales tax requirements that everyone else has to deal with, I really don't give a damn WHAT they have to say on the subject, and they should STFU about it... unless they're gong to start collecting the very sales tax they demand for everyone else.

And how likely is that?




In our view Jan. 23: Fair Taxation
It’s wrong for some merchants (online) to escape sales tax while others cannot
Friday, January 23 1:00 a.m.

Retail business owners have a difficult enough time as it is, what with the economic crisis suffocating many customers’ enthusiasm. But consider this additional scenario that makes a retailer’s predicament even tougher:

You’re encouraged by the steady stream of customer traffic into your store, but more often these days, they leave without buying anything. They take out pencils and paper, but never their wallets. They prevail upon your expertise, and you politely answer their questions. And they closely examine the product, but they never buy anything. They write something down, and then they leave.

You guessed it. They wrote down the model number, learned what you know about the product and then went home and bought it online, to avoid paying a sales tax.

You can’t blame the customer for saving money, but two factions are victimized. First, we’re troubled by the unfairness in the marketplace. Brick-and-mortar merchants deserve to compete on a level field with online merchants, or “remote sellers.” A customer’s decision should be driven by the sellers’ fierce competition for price, quality, availability and service. To make one merchant charge a sales tax, but not another in the same community, is unfair.

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