Remember the Bullet Motorsports scam I mentioned earlier? Seems there is a legitimate Bullet Motorsports Speedlab in Santa Ana, California that had its name and website copied by the scammers. The owner of the legitimate site popped up on a fraud-fighting message board to ask for advice. Thus, while the email claiming to be offering a job with BMS is a fraud, Bullet Motorsports Speedlab itself is legitimate.
December 3, 2008
NC to tax online sales?
Ten years ago when I worked at Indelible Blue, I learned how online retailers have to deal with a myriad of tax codes. State and local governments have extremely complex tax laws – upwards of 7,500 tax jurisdictions across the U.S. It makes paying another state’s taxes damn near impossible for a small business like Indelible Blue.
That’s why I took notice when N.C. House Speaker Joe Hackney says he wants to tax online sales as if these companies are in North Carolina:
Hackney said he would talk to Pelosi about granting states the rights to interstate sales tax collection. He said it would bring in an additional $400 million to $500 million a year for North Carolina’s state budget, especially helpful given the current budget crunch.
“It’s a tax that is already on the books, so it is not a new tax,” he said. “It’s just collecting the one that’s there.”
Oh, how many ways can I say that this is a Spectacularly Bad Idea? You know that $400 million to $500 million it would bring in? The state’s check might say it came from Amazon but the money would come from the pockets of North Carolinians. In case you weren’t paying attention, these are folks who aren’t too keen on parting with half a billion right now.
Not to mention that these companies don’t benefit from anything the state of North Carolina provides, like roads, police, laws, or even a workforce. Why should they pay North Carolina when all they receive from the state is a tax bill?
We already claim this stuff on our income tax. I hope Speaker Hackney is prudent enough to leave it at that.
Unemployment insurance
Its official: I’ve just been officially recognized by the gummint as being unemployed. I called the NC ESC to get my PIN reset so I could file online and a helpful staffperson named Harriet did that and filed my claim for me. I was on hold for 30 minutes before Harriet got to me but her willingness to help and cheerful demeanor made it all worthwhile.
My unemployment checks are a pittance, actually, though they’re the maximum the state will pay. The amount is a fraction of my former salary. It will be a painful transition period but we’ll be able to keep the lights on here at MT.Net.
I was told something else interesting: the ESC doesn’t want my job search records, at least not right away. I was told to dutifully fill them out and keep them around but only send them in if/when the ESC asks to see them. I suppose the ESC is so busy with claims now that they don’t have the staff to sort through mounds of job search forms.
N.C. Employment Security Commission out of commission
I’m calling the N.C. ESC this morning to reset my online login. A call to their “Remote Services Center” resulted in many “all circuits are busy” calls. Finally got through just now, though their phone system tells me I’m in for a 20 minute wait.
Maybe I’ll reconsider and mail my resume to the Somali pirates. Does Somalia have a functioning postal system? (In a touch of irony, in my previous role I could’ve told you all about Somalia’s postal system).
The Moon, Venus, Jupiter and now Neptune!
I enjoyed the dusk sky last night as the waning moon was joined in the southwestern sky by Venus and Jupiter. Tonight those three will be joined by Neptune, though you won’t see Neppy without the aid of binoculars or a telescope.
Seeing those other worlds shining down on us is a timely reminder that there are things much, much bigger than us.