As if the American people aren’t taxed enough, the Senate has approved a proposal that would require online retailers to collect sales taxes if they claim revenues in excess of $1 million in states outside of their physical “brick-n-mortar” locations.  Meaning, you’ll start paying taxes for virtually all of your purchases through large online retailers like Amazon.com, Overstock.com and others.

The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 69 – 27, meaning several Republicans voted to further tax their own constituents contrary to their generally small government and fiscally responsible rhetoric.  The “Marketplace Fairness Act”, as politicians have cleverly named it, is designed to level the playing field – they claim – for smaller retailers without major online stores.  We all know what happens when government attempts to “level the playing field”, don’t we?  It ends up costing the rest of us more money, and the government ultimately winds up as the entity benefiting.

If enacted, the government will collect an estimated $12 billion in additional revenue.