The entry by telephone and cable companies into the Internet service provider business within the last few years has given new hope to the congestion problem in that they now have a vested interest in investing in infrastructure. The Internet connection and set-up cost are not inexpensive for every business; however, the competitive cost of not having it probably outweighs the financial cost of connectivity. Even if businesses deal with customers that are domestic or local, reaching the customer is only one aspect of the Internet. It can be used to communicate with suppliers to build supply networks, order materials, sales or other information 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
Selling on World Wide Web Prior to the contract: The customer enters the merchants web site, views the product and company information and if the vendor and the buyer have established a mechanism that neither of them should be able to repudiate the offer price or the products ordered, and If the customer is convinced that the product will arrive at an approximate specified delivery time, and If the vendor is satisfied that it will be paid Then, the customer will place an order. Settlement of the amount due: the vendor invoices, the customer authorizes/pays.
The post sales warranty, support and customer data gathering there is some debate regarding the formation of an electronic contract over the Internet. One of the differences between contracting over the Internet and contracting by any other electronic means is the on-line Internet Service Provider. The issue is whether the parties are communicating and contracting directly or are they communicating and contracting through a third party. Under the acceptance rule a contract will not be formed until acceptance of the offer by the offeree has been communicated to the offeror. The exception to the rule is called the postal rule, where an offeror or has explicitly or implicitly agreed to the offer being accepted by the post office, once the letter or other communication has been posted. The contract is deemed to have been formed even if the offeror does not receive the letter accepting the offer. In building the web site documentation, it should be made clear in the relevant terms and conditions or by a statement that will be seen by the user before sending their request by email to purchase an item,
Administration of Sales Tax and Central Excise duties
One challenge is presented by continued growth in the volume of Internet sales. To what extent that such growth occurs, it increases remote sales where compliance is already most problematic. Another challenge is that the expanding variety of e-commerce transactions and products may create new types of compliance problems, such as identifying the location and nature of a sale. Although the future growth rate of Internet sales is not known, certain characteristics favor the rapid growth of Internet sales. For example, Commerce has reported that e-commerce not only reduces the cost and time of doing business but also provides alternative shopping sites, expands existing markets, and creates new markets. E-commerce also frees some sellers from the "geographic confines and the costs of running actual stores." These characteristics have the potential to increase the number of remote sellers and purchasers as well as increase the volume of remote sales. To the extent that such sales growth occurs, it will magnify the existing sales and central excise duties compliance problems associated with remote sales, such as the difficulty of enforcing compliance by purchasers in the case of remote sales without nexus. The expanding variety of electronic transactions may also create new compliance challenges. Shifts from traditional forms of sales to Internet sales can make it more difficult to identify the location of the buyer and the seller, the status (business, individual, other) of the buyer or seller, and the nature of the product itself.
In terms of the location, both sellers and purchasers may have multiple locations, and the Internet makes it easier for these firms to conduct their transactions from the location that offers the greatest tax advantages. Businesses may also choose to establish a presence in certain jurisdictions in order to maximize these advantages. As a result, determining the location of buyers and the sellers' activities for nexus purposes, which is important for the collection of sales and central excise duties is more difficult in an environment with Internet sales. A related challenge for the collection of sales and central excise is determining the status of the buyer and seller in Internet transactions. The status of the seller, for example, is relevant since certain sales by individuals are not subject to sales and central excise duties. However, the development of new markets, such as Internet auctions, has created a new opportunity for businesses as well as individuals to avoid sales and central excise duties. To the extent that businesses are using these new markets to make sales, it would be necessary for tax authorities to be able to identify those sellers as businesses rather than as individuals in order to assess the appropriate taxes. Need for legislation The Internet, as we know it today, is no longer a medium limited to nerds and geeks in science labs. It has become a whole new way of life. We have started identifying ourselves with this medium to such an extent that nowadays we take a net connection for granted.
Electronic mail, surfing the World Wide Web, browsing through search engines for that elusive piece of info have all nowadays been woven into the fabric of daily life. In face of this media juggernaut, little do we realize how close we are to being robbed of our credit card numbers by that smart programmer down the road, or that we might be under surveillance with some body stalking our movements on the net or simply still, some body gaining unauthorized access to all the private information on our computers wrecking havoc in our private lives. The era of the Net Economy has also bought with it new approaches to success in business. The Internet and the Web are creating a new economic order-one where people and businesses can exchange information, goods, and services at the speed of light. Many smart companies are rapidly gaining competitive advantage by leveraging the business benefits of these web-based connections, and succeeding in new economic relationships. Today businesses large and small face an unprecedented set of challenges-and an unparalleled set of opportunities. They are interconnecting their customers and business partners with their core business processes. However they are vulnerable. This vulnerability comes from knowledge that they transact in an insecure environment, an environment bereft of legislation. They too face as much uncertainty about a hacker attack on their corporate databases as the common man does. Depending upon their parent country, companies doing business on the Internet have to face varying degrees of ambiguity regarding the laws that not only constraint but also protect them. Global computer-based communications are cutting across territorial borders, creating a new realm of human activity and undermining the feasibility--and legitimacy-of applying laws based on geographic boundaries.
While these electronic communications play havoc with geographic boundaries, a new boundary, made up of the screens and passwords that separate the virtual world from the "real world" of atoms, emerges. This new boundary defines a distinct Cyberspace that needs and can create new law and legal institutions of its own. Territorially based law-making and law-enforcing authorities find this new environment deeply threatening. But established territorial authorities may yet learn to defer to the self-regulatory efforts of Cyberspace participants who care most deeply about this new digital trade in ideas, information, and services. Separated from doctrine and tied to territorial jurisdictions, new rules will emerge, in a variety of online spaces, to govern a wide range of new phenomena that have no clear parallel in the non-virtual world. Clearly, the shift from a physically oriented commercial environment to a knowledge based electronic environment presents some very serious and substantial issues that must be addressed. Existing regulatory frameworks are likely incapable of adequately taxing electronic transactions, and must be adapted. Otherwise, governments may face a significant decrease in their tax revenues, as more and more commerce takes place over the Internet. The task for government then is to attempt to fit Internet transactions into existing rules of taxation. Where this is impossible, it may be necessary to adapt and amend the rules in order to catch Internet transactions.
Adil Waseem
car service from Midway Burlington .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HarePrison guards and corrections professionals are hard at work insuring... Read More
All UAVs Need a Self Destruct BLOS DeviceWhat do you... Read More
The Right's defense of John Thune in the Dan Nelson/MetaBank... Read More
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Men desire power. Give power to... Read More
The official figures are staggering: 35% of the workforce -... Read More
Aspartame activists are constantly being attacked because all data are... Read More
This is the first of a series of four articles... Read More
The entry by telephone and cable companies into the Internet... Read More
The other day I was sucker punched, hoodwinked, bamboozled, had... Read More
Visible remnants of the world's eldest democracy can be seen... Read More
There is no doubt in hindsight that Sarbanes Oxley was... Read More
Non-lethal Goo Concepts have been tossed around by many war... Read More
China is serious about breaking into the bio-tech field and... Read More
The TSA seems to have completely missed the ball at... Read More
We are told by out leadership that we risk loss... Read More
As baby boomers, we have been spoiled all of our... Read More
The recent scathing remarks by High Court Judge Richard Mawrey... Read More
Rule of Thumb for exporting technology. The American People need... Read More
As you can see from some of our previous articles,... Read More
The United States is losing its industrial capacity quite rapidly.... Read More
There is a connection between economic growth and unemployment. There... Read More
Last week, I began my look ahead to the 2008... Read More
Many folks who are pro-NASA and Pro-Space Colonies say that... Read More
Prosecutors with political ambitions are known to modify the truth... Read More
The United States has never done a full study on... Read More
Granger limo Chicago ..I'm starting to feel squeezed by all the political correctness... Read More
In today's Rants from Lance session I address the question... Read More
Commission for Africa (CFA), one is made to understand is... Read More
It is time for a change. A change in philosophy,... Read More
Please read through this quick thought and discussion as if... Read More
City Governments is their quest for; "quality of life" often... Read More
China is serious about breaking into the bio-tech field and... Read More
Those of us hundreds of miles from ground zero sat... Read More
We have all heard of the huge debates surrounding genetically... Read More
In the last Gulf War we saw thousands of enemy... Read More
Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, has... Read More
Heaven, Hell, or some sort of Purgatory.I cannot seem to... Read More
Many are very impressed with the NIMA (National Imagery and... Read More
I heard on the news this week how America continues... Read More
The use of homosexual men in the area of espionage... Read More
Will a bus running across the borders bring cordial relations... Read More
We all know Elliot Spitzer is going to run for... Read More
Many folks who are pro-NASA and Pro-Space Colonies say that... Read More
The US Homeland Security is worried about Hydrofoil or Skimmer... Read More
They do not allow the criticism of the president in... Read More
Lecture given at the Netherlands Economic Institute (NEI) on 18/4/2001Human... Read More
The number-one question people ask us is, "What possessed you... Read More
Many parents might think it a bit farfetched to compare... Read More
When Boris Yeltsin spoke about an experiment that 'they' wrought... Read More
Blessed with Chinese GDP growth rates (7-8% annually in each... Read More
Political |