Click if you like this column!
Republicans in Ohio last week took an important step toward broad tax reform when the state House of Representatives approved an across-the-board reduction in the personal income tax. That tax cut, however, is contingent upon Congress passing legislation that will allow Ohio and other states to have online-only retailers remit state sales tax just like any other business does. The U.S. Senate is now poised to grant states this power via the aptly named Marketplace Fairness Act. This legislation levels the economic playing field by putting small businesses on the same footing as online-only outfits. Conservatives should embrace this needed reform.
Under the current system, state governments collect sales tax from stores located in the jurisdictions if an outlet conducts an in-person sale or makes a transaction online with a state resident. When an individual makes an online purchase from a retailer outside their state, that person is supposed to report the purchase and pay the sales tax?commonly called a ?use tax??to his or her home state. As one might imagine, taxpayers rarely adhere to the requirements of use taxes.
The nationwide increase in online shopping has thus led to a sharp decline in sales tax compliance for state governments. States, which are legally forced to balance their budgets, have made up their revenue shortfalls through a mix of spending cuts, increasing marginal income tax rates and hiking other taxes or fees. The lack of a mechanism to have remote sellers collect and remit sales tax ultimately hurts small local business owners while increasing the overall tax burden on individuals and families who now pay for the higher taxes in other areas. This policy essentially amounts to a federal subsidy for online-only retailers and it threatens the creation of jobs for many local businesses.
The Marketplace Fairness Act is Congress? answer to a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that said states needed federal approval to have remote retailers remit sales tax the same way local retailers do. This legislation allows states to correct the tax imbalance and divide the burden they impose on their residents more sensibly. With the recovery of lost sales tax revenues, states will be able to reduce marginal income tax rates and other levies as they balance their budgets. Naysayers argue that this will not be done, but they are already being proven wrong.
miguel cabrera Karrueche Tran dodd frank Lark Voorhies Jennifer Livingston Orlando Cruz MLB Playoff Schedule
Once you’ve had a few drinks at a bar it’s easy to let loose and blow off steam. Unfortunately, while you’re having fun, you could end up annoying others around you, namely the staff at the venue you’re at. By acting like a fool, you’re jeopardizing your future visits, since bartenders tend to remember who was a jerk and who was a great customer. A project at our Disrupt Hackathon called “Bar Power” is an app that will remind you to “not be a douchebag.” It’s somewhat of a game, walking you through nice things to do when you enter a bar. For example, the app will suggest that you say “hi” to the bartender and introduce yourself. If you do it and mark it?down in the app, you get some karma points. The really interesting part of the app comes into play when you’ve done something wrong. Did you drop a glass? Fall down? Mark that down, too. Naturally, you’ll lose those karma points that you gained by being the perfect customer. I chatted with the team who built it, Patricia Ju and Chris Baily, and they discussed their reasons for creating Bar Power, mostly stemming from Baily’s professional experience in the bar scene. While Bar Power might complicate what you’ve set out to do, which is drink, it is a good way to have a little fun and learn how to be a better customer. Ju explained: “It’s so much better to go out to places where you know people. Bartenders gave us feedback and that helped us make Bar Power’s rules. Once you’re in the app, you select the bar that you’re at and then start doing the nice things that it tells you to do. Slip up? Check that off on the list, too: The map below will track how you’re doing throughout the city, alerting you to areas that you should avoid since you were a freaking jerk the night before: As Baily explained, if people understand what to do and what not to do from the bartender community, their experience will be a better one. If the team can build relationships with venues to get them to interact with customers through the app, this could be a neat rating system that goes both ways, ? la?apps like Lyft and Uber. It sounds like Bar Power has potential past being “just a hack,” and I
