The emergence of a whole new form of commerce may bring the frailty of the sales tax to the surface. I can't tell you that's happened yet, but that may be the process were in. No policymaker wants to see his tax base eroded, but a lot of this may be out of our hands. There's a lot to this we don't know yet. It's hard for thoughtful people to design policy in an age in which the Internet is only beginning.
Sales taxes are a discouragement of the use of the medium.
Yet, I believe as a national policy we would all agree that the Internet is a national strength, a national resource. We want to encourage that. That could justify a policy of at least delaying for a while until there are more people on line. The no-tax option is absolutely on the table when you begin to discuss the issue of state and local taxes. It would be a dramatic windfall to the federal government.