State Lawmakers Oppose Internet Sales Tax

By JASMINE PERALTA

Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis and Senator Martin J. Golden on Thursday blasted Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to tax internet sales, which was expected to collect state and local taxes on at least $100 million in purchases made by New Yorkers.

“New York needs to keep its sticky fingers out of the digital cookie jar!” Golden said at a press conference in Brooklyn.

 Cuomo’s recent budget proposal includes a sales tax on internet purchases on items sold through such digital marketplaces as  Amazon and eBay.

Malliotakis branded the idea as a “cash-grab, looking to nickel and dime our residents” and the creation of a “big-brother situation” that would invade privacy of New Yorkers.

 The language being used in this legislation would require these online marketplaces to provide a list of all the New York residents who have purchased items utilizing those marketplaces to insure that New Yorkers are paying for their services,” she added.

“Enough is enough!”, Senator Golden also emphasized that this internet sales tax will push away these major digital marketplaces from investing in the state of New York, calling the proposal immature.

Senator Golden also asked how dropping a multi-million dollar tax bomb would benefit hard-working New Yorkers?

“Now the government wants a piece of the pie by taking online consumers and businesses,” he said. “This tax will send a message to these digital companies that New York is closed for business.”

In 2012, Business Insider reported, 27 million items were sold on Cyber Monday,  306 items per second.

Golden said that marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay have created an economically convenient and efficient way of shopping. Amazon in particular, he continued,  has expanded beyond the virtual world and has created a physical store in Seattle and was looking to bring a store in Brooklyn, and creating warehouses in Staten Island. But the internet sales tax proposal might kill the idea, he contended.

“We need to make New York a state where digital marketplaces are nurtured, and protected to insure the economic prosperity,” Golden said. “We need to not do this tax, nor the rest of the taxes, this governor has proposed.”

Photo of Assemblywoman Mallitakis & Senator Golden by Jasmine Peralta