Tax-Free Internet Sales Are Now Dead

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The internet’s tax-free era has come to an end:

Internet retailers can be required to collect sales taxes in states where they have no physical presence, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday….The vote was 5 to 4. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the majority opinion and was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch.

That’s not a Supreme Court lineup you see very often. But this is what happens when the court decides a case that doesn’t really split along partisan lines. They actually look at the law dispassionately.

Anyway, that’s that. Within a year or less, every state will collect sales tax on internet and mail-order sales. And even though this affects everyone, I can hardly wait for Donald Trump to find out. I expect an FU tweet aimed at Amazon within a few hours.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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