Can you imagine buying something over the net, and having to pay a special tariff for it? Of course not! The main reason we buy stuff from the net, is because of lower prices. These lower prices come from two main places, not needing physical stores to maintain, and no sales tax. I for one, would like to keep it that way.

For one, we already pay more than enough in shipping at most online retailers, why must we also pay sales tax? That would be like placing two taxes on one item, defeating the usefulness of Internet shopping. Sure, you can find places that offer free shipping, but we all know that the shipping prices are simply rolled into the item price.

Also, I feel that eCommerce depends on not having a sales tax. Imposing a tariff on goods sold on the Internet would undoubtedly slow Internet shopping to a halt. Why order something, when you could get it for the same price at a retail store? A Net Tax would make this question inevitable.

Not to mention that with an economy like we have today (which in my mind, has been built from the emergence of a commercial Internet), why would we want a sales tax to disturb this very precious moment we have. There is no contradiction that an Internet Tax would deplete the economy, as people would be less willing to go out and buy stuff when the prices would be that much higher. Do you want to lose what we have now? I don't think so.

Of course, nothing is going to happen by you just sitting here and reading this article. You have to act upon it. Take these ideas, formulate some of your own, and write to your Senator. These are the people who will be deciding weather or not an Internet Tax will come of age. By writing to them (via email or handwritten letter), they will know how you feel about a Net Tax, and will hopefully keep that in mind when deciding on this issue.

Of course, writing to your Senator isn't the only way to let your voice be heard. Websites such as No More Net Tax and Internet Tax Coalition are bringing thousands of people together to fight this beast. While you may feel like these online places will gather more attention then a letter from one person, I feel that a Senator (who is a person just like you and I) will have greater feelings for someone who took the time to thoughtfully write a letter, instead of simply typing in their name and email address.

No matter which route you take, you will be helping to keep eCommerce Tax Free. Get up off you butt and do something, don't just sit around and see what others do. We have to band together on something of this magnitude, every person counts!

Valuable resources
• Senate's home page
• No More Net Tax
• Internet Tax Coalition
• Internet Tax Freedom Act Home Page
• Internet Tax Background and Discussion
• Internet Tax Hoax's- Stuff to watch out for