Internet Sales Taxes Attack States' Rights; Government Intervention Kills Competition

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Byline: Jessica Melugin, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Proponents of Internet sales taxes are asking the lame-duck Congress to bless their state tax cartel as part of a larger tax reform package by passing the Marketplace Equity Act (H.R. 3179) and its companion in the Senate, the Marketplace Fairness Act (S. 1832). These aren't your average tax increases, but grim blueprints for government's future relationship with the online world. Long after we've either swerved at the last minute or gone off the fiscal cliff a la Thelma and Louise, we'll have to live with the harmful consequences of expanding government to every corner of the Internet.State and local governments already can tax in-state sellers regardless of their method of …