In a May 7th editorial entitled, "Amazon and the Sales Tax," the New York Times argues that out-of-state retailers who don't collect sales taxes "[deprive] hard-pressed states of much-needed revenue." This is flawed on two counts.
First, states like North Carolina are "hard-pressed" because they have a spending not a revenue problem. North Carolina's governor has proposed a budget that is $1 billion higher than 2009's, according to the John Locke Foundation.
Second, online retailers already pay property and other taxes to their home states and pay levies like fuel taxes when they transport goods out-of-state. Should states pursue unwise and unconstitutional policies beyond their borders just because there's "much-needed" revenue to grab? If so, why not simply allow New York to collect a $5 surtax every time a resident routes an email through an out-of-state recipient's server?
States like North Carolina should stop exporting tax burdens onto those who cannot vote against them and instead restrain expenditures.