Governments and their friends will sob that without taxes they won't function properly. Nice try, but governments haven't functioned properly since day one. That is the beauty of the Internet. If it becomes our predominant means for shopping it presupposes that governments do not function properly. The Internet and the growth of online retailing inherently offers the people the opportunity to make governments work differently .
Governments see the threat, no matter how far off.
Let's head 'em off at the pass, they say. And of course they justify their nefarious plans by blaming everything on the Internet. Only an addict could tell the American people the Internet made us raise your taxes. To governments, the battle over Internet taxes is all about preserving the status quo. The Internet is about change, specifically the dissemination of power.