In the Saturday Guest Commentary, “Make online businesses collect tax,” Ms. Klein, being general manager of Alderwood Mall has a conflict of interest. I have no problem with that having owned a small business for many years. What she doesn’t point out is that in local stores customers do not pay shipping, which is in most cases, part of the cost of purchasing online.
More frustrating is the fact that should this Marketplace Fairness Act pass, the taxes collected will be a windfall for all the states. What will they do with that money? Since it’s a windfall will they return it to the states’ citizens in the form of lower taxes? I can almost hear you laugh. I sincerely believe that the complaints of state legislators, including those of our own in Washington, in most cases, have little or nothing to do with helping businesses but to get the extra taxes themselves — which they have no intention of sharing with their citizens. That irks me and I would hope irks you as well. I have already contacted our state legislators with but one response. I would urge you to also contact yours to tell them we expect those taxes to be returned to us as citizens.
Sherwood Sage
Mukilteo
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