Don’t Tax the Internet

[Geee]

American Spectator:

Senate Republicans will face a fork in the road this week when Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., forces a vote on a measure paving the way for expanded state sales tax collection for online purchases. The route Durbin would have them take would eventually lead to passage of the so-called “Marketplace Fairness Act,” a bill that dramatically expands state and local tax authority in order to help bail out states like his native Illinois. The other avenue would protect taxpayers from perhaps the scariest Internet predator: government. A vote on Internet sales taxes during this week’s budget process will tell us which path conservatives will choose.

On the occasion of the first Senate budget resolution in more than four years, Sen. Durbin is likely to introduce a “deficit neutral reserve fund” amendment that is essentially a proxy for his bill, S. 336. Despite what its supporters claim, this legislation is bad news for conservative principles and limited government. Though there are innumerable problems with the bill, there are several that should be of particular concern to Senate Republicans.