This is, indeed, an evolution in our culture that is painful. I love having my Kindle, but browsing its store and library is just NOT the same as browsing at a Borders or Barnes and Noble. Internet commerce has been sales tax exempt for a long time (at least in most states), and there is good reason for it. But states are losing sales tax revenue, and this must be addressed.

Government is the people. Trickle-down is the description of what was supposed to happen when taxes are cut on big-business. Nice try.

That's a plus for the people of this state, they actually had 355 million dollars to spend as they see fit, love it. If we gave it government, we would have no idea where it went, wasted I'm sure.

Massachusetts is losing tax money in other ways as well.***Take the people that travel, once or twice a month, to New Hampshire to buy taxable items like toilet paper, soaps, dishes etc.***I remember driving up there on Sundays for a bottle of wine. Now Massachusetts sells alcohol on Sunday.***Another topic***Taxing the 1% more. Social Security income is taxed and no one questions that. Is WELFARE taxed? Are the EBT cards taxed as income. Do those folks have to file taxes on all these forms of income, and if not, why not?

A sales tax on Amazon would not have saved the Downtown Crossing Borders. The AT&T Store couldn't even make it there.

The playing field is level in New Hampshire, Florida, Texas and Washington, all of which seem to be able to fund state government and provide adequate services without a 6.25% sales tax, and bookstores and other retailers are struggling in those states as well. Reducing or eliminating the sales tax to level the playing field is never Scotty Taxes' preferred solution because Scotty Taxes loves him some taxes. The former Borders store was once the headquarters of the Boston Five Cent Savings Bank, which is long gone. The Woolworth store on Washington Street is now a Marshall's. Retail concepts come and go, all of them fail eventually as competition develops newer, more efficient retail concepts. That's how capitalism is supposed to work, actually. I did 90% of my Christmas shopping online, mostly through Amazon, and never had to leave my house. The website is extremely user friendly, you can put a wish list on the site and use the wish lists of your family and friends to figure out what to buy for them, shipping was free, amazingly fast, and I didn't have to deal with traffic, parking, and the crowds at the stores and malls. Dodging the extortionate Taxachusetts sales tax was a welcome bonus to be sure, but far from the only reason to shop and buy online. If you think that Amazon paying state sales tax, which Amazon will eventually do, it's already conceded that by creating a nexus in Cambridge that will subject it to collecting sales tax, you're delusional.

So let me get this straight, Scot. You think we should pay a sales tax on Amazon purchases because you feel nostalgic about bookstores? Amazon does not own any property in Mass and they have no stores in Mass. If I buy a book for my Kindle I do not receive a hard copy of anything. Let me ask you something. If I live in Mass and I go on vacation to Flordia. While there, I decide to buy an ebook. Should I pay tax for it? Get real. This is a new economy and the rules are changing. And, by the way. nostalia is not a rwason to raise taxes. Use you head and not your emotions

Nonsense and drivel. In your "search" for your book, did you TRY Amazon? Bet you could have had the book on your desk in a day or 2, at a much more competitive price, and without wasting time and gas running around to various brick and mortar stores in search of it. The fact is that commerce is changing, and there is no "unfair advantage". Do you advocate a special tax on Walmart, because it has figured out a way to do business by purchasing goods in huge quantity at reduced wholesale prices, undercutting the small stores on your Main Street? Do you scream for higher import taxation on Chinese goods, manufactured by underpaid (by our standards)labor in a less regulated (and cheaper) environment, and so priced well below what similar goods cost in the US? Companies that figure out a less expensive way to do business (and also ways that simultaneously save fuel and reduce inconvenience)deserves to survice, and should be fostered, not penalized. The burden is on the local book store to find a way to make itself more attractive, or to perish; that is the nature of a free market. Want to do something creative, and "level" the playing field for your local stores? Advocate for an end to the sales tax; not its expansion.

Hi Guys, So today it's Richmond and I and Mitch and Jeb and Haley in a commonsense alliance against the rest of you. Oh my. Scot

Actually, just because you aren't charged a sales and use tax on mail-order or online purchases, doesn't mean you don't owe that tax; you do, but enforcing it is not cost-effective. Essentially, MA is joining the bandwagon of states that have recognized that the 'honor system' of paying taxes isn't working. Dell already charges sales tax, because they have a physical presence in all 50 states. Amazon is heading in the same direction, so it is just a matter of time before they follow that model on sales tax. The issue ultimately will be at what point is an online or mail-order retailer large enough to be expected to collect sales tax?

I can buy a tv online, get exactly what I want without getting in the car and shopping around, pay no taz($75), get it delivered free to my door. Stores have more problems than the sales tax and will have to come up with a differant business plan to compete. The issue then is lost revenue for the state, so it's up to state government to figure out how to increase it if needed which they've seemed to be able to do in the past.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<I'd like to add compliments here to Scot, who takes time to interact with his readers and shows an interest in their opinions re/his work. What's wrong with the other columnists? Don't they feel like promoting readership?

I'm pretty sure Apple is now charging online sales tax. No reason for Amazon to get a free ride, especially when hard-pressed brick-and-mortar stores aren't exempt.

Look...if the big shots can hide their income and profits in the Cayman Islands and Switzerland, why shouldn't the little guy get to screw his fellow citizens by not paying sales taxes. It's a question of fairness and equity. I'm shocked that a pinko like Jeb Bush or Haley Barbour would be sucked into this. The next thing you know, they will be attacking job-creators like the Koch Brothers. What's wrong with you people!

What is the purpose and rationale for state sales taxes? Ultimately, the state wants revenue to maintain infrastructure (and patronage, here), then balances getting revenue in a variety of different ways (usually, ones that provide the most political cover for incumbent politicians). But a sales tax is one of the more regressive forms of taxation. Why not favor what is most transparent and incentivizes what we want most? From that perspective, an increase in the state income tax or other purpose specific taxes (for example, on alcohol) would make the most sense. Why do such taxes consistently fail? Because they make too obvious what is really happening.

Guys: JL is exactly right on the sales tax situation now; people do owe it, but rare is the guy or gal who pays it. So in a sense, you could say, as Governor Daniels does, that this is not a new tax but rather better enforcement of an existing one. Pvalen: Thanks, I appreciate that.

Once again, a Globe columnist is promoting taxes as the avenue for social engineering. Borders was not your hometown independent bookstore. It was as much of a chain as Barnes & Noble, but had less nimble leadership and, as you say, "was late to e-commerce." Borders deserved to fail. Even book lovers like you and me, Scot, weren't going to continue to buy books at Borders when the average paperback now costs $15 and you can get it for half that at Costco or at least 15% off with a Barnes & Noble membership card, which I purchase annually for $25. A hardcover bestseller costs $35 retail on average and Borders charged every penny. WalMart, Super Stop & Shop, and all the online outlets charged 30% less and Amazon and the others online often deliver free within a day or two. The sales tax is not pushing people online. It's all the other benefits: cheaper prices, efficient and free delivery, widest selection, no time lost or gas consumed to shop, etc. Please give the poor people of Massachusetts a break and stop giving the boys on Beacon Hill another rationale for jacking up taxes. Thanks.

Do you think that the mortgage interest tax deduction is anything BUT social engineering through the tax code? Better still, what do you think the chances are of finding that a majority of homeowners with mortgages think it's important to be consistent and would support immediate elimination of this deduction?

Kate, I can't speak for the totality of Borders, but that certain doesn't describe the downtown crossing store. They had a rewards program that gave nice discounts for regular buyers; most if not all their hard covers were at least 20 percent off; they had several tables of two-for-the-price-of-one or buy-two-get-three deals; and they almost always had racks of cheap books outside. I was at the B&N in Burlington over the weekend, and it is quite a good store, but in town, I don't think the B&N was anywhere near Borders quality. If were are to rely on Costco and Stop & Shop for our books, the selection is going to be pretty limited, no? And, just out of curiosity, how is advocating that Borders collect a sales tax social engineering? Scot

As gas/oil prices increase, wages go down/frozen, deductables for Health Insurance increase, the working middle class keep getting squeezed. These days one needs to find ways to save. The internet made it convient to save a few bucks to utilize for more important things such as feeding a family and other home expensives. This is all about generating more taxes to pay for more govermental bureaucracy.

There are advantages to buying something like a tv locally even if you can save a few bucks on line. Two years ago I bought my plasma from BestBuy. I waited for a sale so that I could get what I wanted at a price comparable to that available on-line. I was able to pay it off over several months with no interest. When they delivered my plasma they hauled away my old sony behemoth crt. When my new plasma died two weeks later it was considerably easier to arrange locally for the exchange than it would have been online.

From the vendor point of view, the Mass sales tax is easy - one rate across the whole state, but there are some states like Georgia with overlapping rates that vary a lot and are not aligned with Zip codes, so knowing what rate to charge is not easy. Some businesses just take an average rate for the state and send that in. Let the state figure out who gets how much. One national flat rate would be great for businesses assuming we have to have sales taxes.

It's interstate commerce, so why not have a federal sales tax on online sales? The revenue could be distributed to all states with a proportionally larger amount going to states that have their own sales tax since they would be losing revenue.

Bucc: That's an interesting point about Georgia; they would have to set a rate on a statewide level, I suppose. Ditto the other states with differential rates. Ohio: Traditionally the sales tax has been the province of the states and I'd guess they'd be reluctant to have the feds start to move into that area, for fear they'd never stop. Waytoo: It's not a lie. It's just a way of saying the same basic thing. One would have to be an dolt to think the company would remit the tax without charging customers. And the column makes clear that what's at issue is having them collect the tax on their sales here.