At first, I wasn't going to "dash into the fray" — as they say in Merry Old England — over the latest attempt by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to defraud not only its 12 million residents but to defraud the nation, as well. But, someone has to point the finger at the guilty parties and squeal here, and I've already written my
Fred Fortune post this month, so
he's not going to do it.
When Pennsylvania taxpayers file their PA state personal income taxes in 2012 (for tax year 2011), they'll be asked by the Commonwealth to declare the sales tax on untaxed online purchases — now pay close attention to the creative fraud process here — as personal income that needs to be reported. Un-friggin'believable. Pennsylvania already leads the nation in taxation. Pennsylvanians are taxed by their state government more than any other Americans in the nation. It's been that way for decades.
That's right, we Pennsylvania residents line the state coffers for our money-grubbing bureaucrats in the state capital even more than they do in New York State or the State of Illinois. Even more than California. And now the fat cats in Harrisburg expect us to declare unpaid sales tax for online purchases as INCOME and pay state income taxes on it. Whoa! Stop the stagecoach! Before too long the robber barons we stupidly voted for will be holding out their hats to collect a tax when we pay our taxes. Somehow, someway, by some convoluted logic that only Pennsylvania politicians seem to understand, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will no doubt, in the foreseeable future, consider all monies spent by its tax-paying residents as INCOME instead of EXPENDITURES.
Yeah, yeah. I know. Those on the state dole figure that the 6% sales tax that is not collected by online businesses for purchases made online by Pennsylvania residents is somehow due the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Hold the ponies! I even have a problem with that being a given. Here's an illustrative example. Shopping online at an out-of-state business is like buying salt water taffy in Atlantic City. What the hell right does the state of Pennsylvania have to any of that money? That's right, Pennsylvania has NO RIGHT to that sales tax. If New Jersey can't collect it online for itself, that's New Jersey's problem. But one thing that uncollected online sales tax definitely ISN'T is taxable income for that Pennsylvania online customer. Gimmee a break, already.
You guys and gals down in the state capitol building can shove that notion you know where. We didn't elect you to pick our pockets. If you need to find creative revenue somewhere why don't you let the state police actually fine truckers, Fed Ex drivers and UPS drivers when they break the speed limit or is the posted speed limit in Pennsylvania only for Mom and Pop and commuters? Do you state legislators want another creative revenue idea? How about foregoing the next pay raise you highway robbers automatically give yourselves each year and donate it to the online sales tax fund? There you go. Yeah, that hit you where it counts. Now you know how the rest of us feel.
Damn your worthless hides. What we need here in the Keystone State is to bring back tarring and feathering and the practice of running public offenders (which includes but is not limited to public officials) "out of town on a rail" and mandate both forms of punishment for anyone in Harrisburg who tries to slip their hands into our pockets and purses while we're not looking. When your bank-robbing asses are humiliated and run out of town for defrauding the public and for betraying the public trust, then maybe we can put some men and women back in the state legislature who actually know the most basic principles of accounting.
Until then, we Pennsylvanians are in for a pretty rough ride. Only in Pennsylvania can you be guaranteed not to get your money's worth. It's enough to make you ask for your money back.
