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THE FAIR PRICE?

The Fair Price?

Halle Harrison
James Madison University

THE FAIR PRICE?

Introduction

Sales tax has been at issue with both businesses large and small since the law has been
laid out and presented to small business owners and CEOs of major companies. The Acts and
laws put in place supposedly made to make the market a level playing field. But to some
especially the small business owners this seems not to be the case in their eyes, these acts and
taxes to them are their down fall and ultimately helping the larger businesses succeed rather than
making it a level playing field for all business people. Though these acts are really in place for
the betterment of the business world, but is this truly the case for the businesses and people who
run them?

Cox, D. G. (2014). The US Government Should Not Adopt a Consumption Tax

System. In D. Haugen (Ed.), At Issue. Should the Federal Income Tax Be

THE FAIR PRICE?

Eliminated? Detroit: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Fair Tax: The Mother of
All Dumb Ideas, www.opednews.com, 2008).
The document written by Mr. Cox describes the inconstancies and back drawings of the
federal income tax placed on certain retailers. Most of the views of the document are negative of
the act put into place, leaving some room for the descriptions on what could be positive about the
act being instilled for the people of the upper class the advantage being made for them. Most of
his sources were varied ranging from physical copies of books to other websites that offer some
value, and even some experience as Mr.Cox is a politician himself and a business owner.
The document is also the negative side of the act, the document also show cases the
opposing side of the view point very strongly. The paper is using most sources from his own
experience as well as some books, news articles, and other websites as some of the sources used
to make his point on the stance on his issue. For instance one of the examples from the article
states: A tax plan where you pay a 27% federal sales tax on all retail purchases. Your paycheck
will be free of all deductions except for health insurance and, of course, your state withholding
but this bullsh**it bamboozle is a bait and switch scam (Cox). The article is well written and is
easy to understand because the language used, although some of the language is used technically
what is written by Mr. Cox is still easy for anyone to understand and digest.
This document I feel can be useful for me as part of the argument as well as some of the
suggested actions to help solve these problems. But the document does also make a strong
opposition for the argument. The document was not that hard to understand and I feel that will
make it easier to digest the information for me when I am transferring it to my audience to whom
I have to explain this to.

THE FAIR PRICE?

Is an Online Sales Tax in Store for You. (2013). NYTimes.com Video Collection.
Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com.
Writer Andrew Ross for the New York Times discusses what putting the act into place
could mean for major businesses and why they don't want this act to go through. Explains what
this could mean for them and who would be in support of the act both the Senate and the House.
How long it will take for these acts to go through the system.
Mr. Ross uses the issues being brought up as his source of information to prove his point
as he explains this to his interviewer and the people who are watching the video. Making
everything easy to understand his choice of wording was very nice and compact, listening to it
was very pleasing and every explanation he had could be understood.
I like this video because I find it as a different way to find explanation about my topic, it
helps me to have heard someone explain out loud what the problem is besides just using text.
plus i find it as a refreshing break from just reading text without any emotional or nonmonotonous qualities, plus it shows the personal thoughts rather than what might just be facts
from words on a piece of paper.

Johnston, D. C. (2014, December 26). How Google and Apple Make Their Taxes
Disappear; The British government says it knows how to tax the profits Google
earns. It's simple, elegant and probably won't change anything. Newsweek, 163 p.
25.

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The Document about companies showcases the ways the large corporations such as
Google and Apple. How these cooperations seemingly get away with not paying any taxes on the
revenue they make. The author talks about the way that the companies seemingly able to skirt
around the government mandated tax that every other business has to pay to. The author also lists
multiple examples in which these incidents have occurred with certain companies, showcasing
how they have managed to skirt around the polices and governmental acts that have been thrown
their way, but not without the help of the very government that put them into play.
The Sources used by Mr. Johnston are facts from people used inside of the companies
that are presented as the prime example of what seems to be going on in the inner workings of
the situation. Some examples of the companies include Apple and Google as the primary focus of
the problems that the business find as the fault of the act and tax put in place. Those are popular
names for tax strategies that let companies earn profits in countries with high taxes, but report
profits where little or no tax is paid, such as Ireland. The people charged with enforcing tax laws
say that is cheating, and some officials and pundits in Europe have invoked what President
Ronald Reagan said in a 1983 radio address about tax cheats: "When they do not pay their taxes,
someone else does--you and me. He uses this as well as well as his own expertise to help
prove his point as to what the issues are and continue to be.

This document I feel will help me give further inner looking of the effect of this issue not
here just in the United States but also overseas in Great Britain where this document seems to be
putting its spotlight on. I also think that it shows more of the issue to me, that it goes deeper than
just surface issues. That the people who are supposed to be helped by this act making the lives
easier seems to be causing more strife than its worth and has made me think that maybe there is

THE FAIR PRICE?

no easy way to solve this problem.

Lucente, T. (2015, June 7). OPINION: Thomas Lucente: Taxing online sales not
'fair'. Lima News, The (OH). http://search.ebscohost.com.
This Author displays what faults seem to be in the act as it gets approved in the state
Ohio, what faults seem to be as it goes into place. It identifies what the acts seemingly is there
for as an unfair document despite the name of the act, any thing the act is supposed to help with
will apparently to the opposite according to the article.
The article uses the authors expertise as means for his work while also showcasing his
knowledge and option on the subject. Unfortunately, the argument over Internet sales tax has
less to do with fairness and more to do with a money grab in order to facilitate bigger
government through his use of examples such as comparing this tax as arresting some one for
smoking weed in colorado and then coming back to Ohio where it is illegal for a person to do so.
I think this article is heavily opinion biased, I feel that this document will be useful for
my assignment. It still surprises me how much someone can vehemently dislike an act and how
viciously they find ways to prove their point. Its truly an eye opening experience for me as I
divulge deeper into this subject.

PR, N. (2014, May 5). One Year Later, Local Retailers Are Still Waiting On
Congress To Restore Marketplace Fairness. PR Newswire US.
The article provided talks about the issues that the small businesses face after the one
year mark that the market place fairness act was passed. Even though the act was made for the
fairness of all businesses and although the act has been effect it seems to have made thongs

THE FAIR PRICE?

worse rather than better. Now the small businesses that are being effected negatively in this are
waiting for another act that is made specifically for online retailers that seem to have a better
edge than small business owners. There is hope for this act though as some motions have been
made for the act to be passed.
The articles argument comes from the Alliance for Main Street Fairness, they use facts
gathered from the owners of small businesses and what their experience is as a whole with the
act in place as it effects their businesses. "Last year's bipartisan vote on e-fairness legislation
was one of the few bright spots for the small business community to come out of Washington,"
said Melissa Palmer, Owner of Chocolatepaper in Roanoke, VA. "Closing the online sales tax
loophole ensures the government doesn't pick winners and losers in the marketplace and makes
all retailers, online or on Main Street, compete by the same rules. The Senate has acted, and we
need the House to follow suit (PR). In The bi-partisan party seems in favor of passing another
act that will finally even out the playing field between e-commerce and the rest of the market
world.
This document has certainly show cased to me that there is definitely a bigger issue going
on with something that has been made to be equal for all is certainly not seen that way by others,
that it effects. It has also showcased that the government and people involved are not just sitting
idly by and letting what they see as injustice go by without having a possible solution. Its
changed my thinking, because before I didn't think that there was a possible solution for this
situation, but I do now see that their is and will be a good addition to the poster I am making to
be able to showcase that there is indeed a solution as shown here by this author.

THE FAIR PRICE?

THE FAIR PRICE?