The Marketplace Fairness Act: a headache for small business owners | The Daily Caller

The Marketplace Fairness Act: a headache for small business owners | The Daily Caller: "Each of this country’s 10,000 different taxing jurisdictions has its own laws for applying sales tax to all sorts of goods"

"within the same zip code, even on the same street, different tax rates can apply"

"the [free] software will only provide me with rates, not product categories, and it will do nothing to help lift the time-and-money burden of submitting up to 600 tax returns per year."

"I’d have to upgrade to the Sage 100 platform in order to automate my sales tax calculations"
"my shopping cart isn’t compatible with their program and would have to be modified"
"I’d have to change my entire sales software and strategy because no multi-channel cart solutions are currently supported by their software."
"I’d also have to categorize all of my products to be readable by the software."


"clothing might be exempt, depending on the price" "sports bras are tax exempt, but sports shorts aren’t. A sewing button is exempt but a scrapbooking button isn’t. That same sewing button isn’t exempt if it’s included in a sewing kit. Yarn is exempt unless it could be used to make a rug. Thread is exempt, unless it’s sold with a needle."

Does the Absence of Rules Mean Chaos? | Cato Institute

Does the Absence of Rules Mean Chaos? | Cato Institute: "In traffic, following rules relieves you of some of the burden of having to monitor other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. It enables one to adopt what Paul Seabright, an economist at the University of Toulouse, coined “tunnel vision,” limiting the knowledge and attention needed to successfully operate in complex environments.

However, “tunnel vision” creates risks in situations that are not foreseen by the rules one is following."

"By creating a “shared space,” the potential for collisions grows, paradoxically incentivizing everyone to exercise more care."

The Paradox of Imperialism - Hans-Hermann Hoppe - Mises Daily

The Paradox of Imperialism - Hans-Hermann Hoppe - Mises Daily: "Other things being equal, the lower the tax and regulation burden imposed on the domestic economy, the larger the population will tend to grow and the larger the amount of domestically produced wealth on which the state can draw in its conflicts with neighboring competitors. That is, states which tax and regulate their economies comparatively little — liberal states — tend to defeat and expand their territories or their range of hegemonic control at the expense of less-liberal ones."

"In blurring the distinction between the rulers and the ruled ("we all rule ourselves"), democracy strengthened the identification of the public with a particular state. Rather than dynastic property disputes which could be resolved through conquest and occupation, democratic wars became ideological battles"

"It became increasingly difficult for members of the public to extricate themselves from personal involvement in war."

7 Ways to Dramatically Advance Your Career | LinkedIn

7 Ways to Dramatically Advance Your Career | LinkedIn: "What practices exist in your industry that drive customers crazy? How do all companies in your industry behave stupidly? Identify these types of practices, and wipe them out."

"The more complex the processes and practices in your industry, the greater your opportunity to gain competitive advantage by simplifying them. Yes, doing so will be very hard. But that’s the whole point; the first to do so gains tremendous advantages."

"Incremental change doesn’t disrupt an industry; radical change does. Radical price reductions require radical new processes and business models."

"The toughest part of this challenge is not technical; it is knocking down the walls inside companies. It’s deciding whose product gets cross-sold, who gets “credit” for sales, and who “owns” the customer.

No one "owns" the customer, and you either do what’s best for the customer or you will lose him."

"The truth is coming, and there’s nothing you can do about it. But most firms won’t recognize this until it happens. Better to get far out in front while confusion reigns."

"Once you start delivering personalization, you create immense opportunities to make loyalty more convenient than disloyalty"

For International Travelers, Reviving the Fourth Amendment | Cato Institute

For International Travelers, Reviving the Fourth Amendment | Cato Institute: "the law-abiding majority enjoy many constitutional liberties only because the law-breaking minority fights for those protections to avoid jail. The result often isn’t pretty—and raises complaints about the guilty going free because of constitutional “technicalities”—but nevertheless benefits the rest of us."

"DHS stated: “We conclude that CPB’s and ICE’s current border search policies comply with the Fourth Amendment. We also conclude that imposing a requirement that officers have reasonable suspicions in order to conduct a border search of an electronic device would be operationally harmful without concomitant civil rights/civil liberties benefits.”

If the agency cannot discern the civil liberties benefits of keeping government agents out of my computer, then DHS desperately requires serious oversight and, more important, firm limits."

'My Scientists Made Me Shrink Your Car' | Cato Institute

'My Scientists Made Me Shrink Your Car' | Cato Institute: "The government of Australia, and pretty much every other nation, funds research scientists and then relies on them for policy guidance. It is in the best interest of these government-funded scientists to ensure their fields — and therefore their jobs — are deemed of great importance."

"The initial [2000] assessment, however, would get only 1 out of 8 answers correct (12.5 percent) — essentially performing twice as badly as a random series of numbers.

The research program was aware of this problem and published its report anyway."

BBC News - Google tests balloons to beam internet from near space

BBC News - Google tests balloons to beam internet from near space: "Each balloon is 15m (49.2ft) in diameter - the length of a small plane - and filled with lifting gases. Electronic equipment hangs underneath including radio antennas, a flight computer, an altitude control system and solar panels to power the gear.

Google aims to fly the balloons in the stratosphere, 20km (12 miles) or more above the ground, which is about double the altitude used by commercial aircraft and above controlled airspace.

Google says each should stay aloft for about 100 days and provide connectivity to an area stretching 40km in diameter below as they travel in a west-to-east direction."

"You have to cause them to move up or down just a little bit through the stratosphere to catch the appropriate wind - which is how we steer them."

Senate Immigration Bill Lurches to the Right | Cato Institute

Senate Immigration Bill Lurches to the Right | Cato Institute: "E-Verify mistakenly approves a majority of unlawful immigrant job applicants and, worse, misidentifies about one percent of American applicants as unlawful. That opens up another legal odyssey for many Americans who should not have to ask permission from the federal government to work."

"The Obama Administration vigorously prosecutes immigration violations, deportingapproximately 400,000 illegals annually — a 31 percent increase over the Bush years. And yet, the unlawful immigrant population has increased by almost 700,000 since 2009."

Restrain the Abusive Administative State | Cato Institute

Restrain the Abusive Administative State | Cato Institute: " the broader the government’s authority, the greater its need for revenue, the wider its enforcement power, the more expansive the bureaucracy’s discretion, the increasingly important the battle for political control, and the more bitter the partisan fight, the more likely government officials will abuse their positions, violate rules, laws, and Constitution, and sacrifice people’s liberties.

The blame falls squarely on Congress, not the IRS."

"the denizens of Capitol Hill also have created a tax code marked by outrageous complexity, special interest electioneering, and systematic social engineering. Legislators have intentionally created avenues for tax avoidance to win votes, and then complained about widespread tax avoidance to win votes. Taxpayers are foolish if they do not take advantage of tax “loopholes,” but agency employees feel tasked to deny any claim that is not clear, even certain."

"Government has a difficult enough challenge combating crime, adjudicating disputes, restricting pollutants, and assisting the poor. Politicians have trouble enough controlling their own behavior and acting in a civilized fashion. They are the last people who should attempt to improve the behavior and mold the souls of others."

Why the IRS Cannot Be Reformed | Cato Institute

Why the IRS Cannot Be Reformed | Cato Institute: "Every few years, at least from the time of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, there is a scandal involving abuse of power at the Internal Revenue Service."

"the nature of the income tax, which, by definition, is subjective in its interpretation of the definition of “income” and thus subject to abuse."

"Economic income is defined differently than taxable income. As a result, most companies are required by law to keep a separate set of books to comply both with Securities and Exchange Commission regulations and IRS regulations — and often other sets of books to comply with the regulations of foreign countries."

"The IRS is inconsistent, even with individuals, in definitions of income. In some cases, adjustments are made for inflation, but not in other cases."

"The tax code is so complex that no individual can understand it, including those who work for the IRS."