Editorial: "Buy Local" - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

Editorial: "Buy Local"

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  • Editorials

  • Thursday, May 23 2013 7:20 PM EDT2013-05-23 23:20:04 GMT
    Anyone who takes advantage of one of Alabama's most treasured assets – the elderly – should face swift and steep consequences.  Thanks to a bill passed in the final hours of most recent legislative session that
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  • Tuesday, May 21 2013 7:20 PM EDT2013-05-21 23:20:08 GMT
    The horrific tornadoes that ripped through Oklahoma this week bring back all too familiar memories for Alabamians as memories of April 27, 2011 are still fresh in many minds. When Alabamians were in need
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  • Thursday, May 16 2013 7:20 PM EDT2013-05-16 23:20:04 GMT
    In my editorial on Tuesday I chided our legislators for being the last state to pass a no-brainer  bill legalizing home brewing.  Today I want to challenge them to be one of the first states to pass another no-brainer;
    In my editorial on Tuesday I chided our legislators for being the last state to pass a no-brainer  bill legalizing home brewing.  Today I want to challenge them to be one of the first states to pass another no-brainer;
    •   
MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) -

E-Commerce or online sales by remote sellers outside of our state to buyers in Alabama exceeded $34 billion dollars in 2011, according to a study by the University of Alabama School of Business. Retail online sales, subject to sales tax, totaled $2.3 billion in our state.  Unfortunately, the State of Alabama only received tax on about half of the purchases with estimates ranging from $263 million to $309 million in non-collected tax revenue for our state.

The inability of Alabama to require sellers who are not physically located in Alabama to collect and remit applicable sales taxes stems from a 1977 and 1992 Supreme Court ruling.

Not good news if you are an owner of a local business such as Cohen's Electronics, The Locker Room or Stonehenge Gallery.  These local business owners, tax payers and job providers fill their stores with merchandise only to have more and more buyers test out or "showroom" their products only to then go online and purchase tax free. Not a healthy prognosis for local business owners in the future as online retail sales is expected to double by 2016.

This holiday season we want to encourage you to do a couple things.  Number one, buy local and support local businesses that provide jobs, support local organizations and pay taxes.  Number two, contact our Alabama Senators and encourage them to vote for the Marketplace Fairness Act that would compel Internet and other remote sellers to collect and remit sales taxes to Alabama.

As one local retailer stated so well, "Good retailers are not afraid of competition...all we want are the same rules to apply to everybody." 

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