Lawmakers mull download tax

Hartford, Conn. (WTNH) - State lawmakers are considering expansion of the download tax which imposes the full sales tax on all digital downloads.

The people who own shops and stores in Connecticut say this is all about being fair to them.

There is a 6.35% sales tax on music or movies bought in a store, but the tax is just 1% if those same items are purchased online. Now there is a proposal at the State Capitol to impose the full sales tax on these items, as well as books and even ring tones.
 
The retail merchants association is all for it.

"It's an issue of fairness; you should not have an inherent advantage just because you're selling something online versus the person who has a brick and motor presence in the state," said Tim Phelan from the Connecticut Retail Merchants Association.

State Representative Pat Widlitz of Guilford is co-chair of the tax writing Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.

"We are looking at trying to protect Connecticut business, at least giving them a level playing field," she said. "We know that online shopping is the wave of the future. It's here now."
      
But the Republican leader Sen. John McKinney in the State Senate says he, like many residents, has personal reasons for opposing this idea.

"I've got two teenagers and an eleven year old. They're constantly downloading different applications online all of the time," he said. "I think we have too many taxes already."

The state imposed the sales tax on internet purchases last year. As a result some internet businesses stopped doing business in Connecticut.
     
McKinney is pushing for a federal solution to all this which would impose a simple flat sales tax on all internet purchases all across the nation.