I Am On My High Horse!

As my mother would say, I am on my "high horse" today and I've just got to write about it.
This morning's Tulsa World headline was "Senate OKs Internet sales tax".  And guess who voted against this bill?  Senators Inhofe and Coburn.
Senator Inhofe says the bill represents a "tax increase" and he is concerned that "layers of red tape for online sellers"  would hurt consumers.  U.S. Representative Jim Bridenstine who is also opposed to this bill says it will "stifle economic growth and drive online sales overseas where tax collectors can't reach these companies."
Give me a break!!  Do any of our elected representatives care one bit about all us small retailers who make up the vast majority of business in the U.S. and who are obliged to collect sales tax from our customers?  What about our red tape?  What about our overhead, employee salaries, taxes, utility bills, rent and inventory costs?  Why are we asked to compete with multi-million dollar online businesses without any help from our elected representatives?
Do you know that Oklahoma loses about $225 million dollars a year in tax revenue because of online sales? This is money which would go to schools, to roads, to preserving our environment, to raises for a variety of employees.  What this new bill would do is equalize the sales environment for all us little guys.  And at the same time raise all sorts of money for improving our standard of living in Oklahoma (and other states too).
Now I am not against online sales.  I have already stated that I occasionally order items online.  All I am saying is that I am willing to pay the sales tax on those items, which will go to help my state. 
Why our elected officials are not on that band wagon I cannot say.
If you take a look at the list of those companies and organizations which support or oppose this bill, you will get a real picture of what is going on.  And I say, whenever possible, support local business,  What you spend help keeps our economy stronger, keeps our fellow Oklahomans employed, provides funds for all those services which are so important to our standard of living and giving a leg up for those who need it.  And if you have to order something online, do so because the item you want isn't available locally.  What you may save on the price of the item and the non-payment of sales tax isn't worth depriving yourself, local business and all Oklahomans of the tax money we need to get our state out of the ditch of being 49th in so many categories.