2013年5月6日 星期一

亞馬遜:政治叢林的王者 ft/ Google

亞馬遜:政治叢林的王者


 
與普通零售店相比,亞馬遜(Amazon)擁有商品類別齊 全、折扣幅度大以及客戶服務超級棒的優勢。亞馬遜憑借這些“正當”優勢打造了自己的帝國。但與實體商店相比,亞馬遜還有一項不那麽“正當”的優勢:它不必 向顧客代徵銷售稅(銷售稅是美國各州對消費品徵收的高低不等的稅)。這項規定讓顧客可以節約最高達購物金額12%的稅金(取決於顧客居住地所在州),因 此,能在網上買到的東西,只有傻子才會選擇在線下購買。
亞馬遜成立迄今已近20年,美國國會終於開始著手填堵這個漏洞,提出了一項法案,允許各州要求電商向顧客代收稅金。預計參議院下周將最終通過這項 《市場公平法案》(Marketplace Fairness Act),但圍繞法案的辯論,並不是事件中最引人註目之處。事實上,沒有什麽好辯論的。就連亞馬遜也承認,原則上應該讓電商和實體商店站在同一起跑線上。 事件中最引人註目之處在於,這項法案拖延了這麽多年才被提上議事日程。這種拖延顯示,美國政治體系妥協和僵化情況之嚴重,致使其無法及時糾正經濟中哪怕是 最一目瞭然的不公平。

電商據以逃避向顧客代收銷售稅義務的法律,可追溯到那個人們通常去居住地的實體商店購物的時代。如果一家企業在某個州沒有“實體存在”,只是從別處 運來商品,它就不必向顧客代徵稅金。顧客要自行為所購商品支付“使用稅”。但沒有多少人會如此自覺地繳納這項稅,各州也無法追蹤逃稅者。
隨著亞馬遜發展壯大,其首席執行官傑夫•貝佐斯(Jeff Bezos)將這種不合理狀況視作一種權利,並採用尋租技巧來保護自己的“優勢”。他在游說組織身上花了數百萬美元,聘請著大批律師,並通過競選捐款在政 界培植盟友。亞馬遜弱小的競爭對手很難在法院里證明這種狀況不合理。也沒有任何消費者支持徵稅,盡管公共服務的縮水讓消費者間接交了稅。
在 美國各州,亞馬遜成為一個“官司霸王”,印證了那句老話:當一家企業足夠強大,它就可以對貧窮的政府發號施令。每當州政府威脅要讓亞馬遜代收稅金,它就警 告稱,自己可以將成千上萬的工作崗位轉移到別處。美國加州政府幾年前瀕臨破產,州議會決定要求亞馬遜代收稅金,於是亞馬遜中斷了與加州當地商戶的關系,並 威脅為舉行全民表決否決這一決定提供贊助。它的戰略逐漸演變為讓不可避免的法案能拖就拖。每當某個州政府看樣子要打贏官司了,亞馬遜就會與它談判,同意代 徵稅金,通常附帶延後幾年開始履行此項義務的條件。
在這場不講道義的游戲中,亞馬遜一直得以享受國會共和黨議員們的包庇。這些議員們認為,“不徵稅而履行代表民眾的職責”是自由的體現。有原則的保守 派信奉,應該維持較低、穩定而公平的稅率。相形之下,一名美國共和黨人會認為,課稅和稅款的有效徵集,均為政府濫用職權的體現。格羅夫•諾奎斯特 (Grover Norquist)將這個理念編寫為“反稅收誓言書”,該誓言書如今已徵集到大多數共和黨人的簽名。諾奎斯特領導的“支持稅改美國人” (Americans for Tax Reform)組織,是反對向網購商品徵稅的主力。
憎惡徵稅的美國共和黨人不放過任何可以利用的論點。在過去,他們鼓吹,在互聯網還未長成之際對電子商務行為徵稅,無異於殺雞取卵。其他人稱,遵紀守 法會對小企業造成過於沉重的負擔,這些企業(年銷售額少於50萬美元、享受稅收豁免的小型商戶除外)可能成為沒完沒了的稅收審計的犧牲品。亞馬遜的游說者 努力讓擬議中的稅收起徵點進一步降低,顯然是為了讓這個論點更具說服力。
如今情況有何改變?主要的一點是,亞馬遜的主導地位已牢牢確立,它已經不想繼續捍衛這項優勢了。能堅持到現在,已經超出了亞馬遜當初的期望。如今, 亞馬遜希望能夠到處建倉庫,就“實體存在”在各州挨個打官司也就無意義了。換句話說,不是國會終於決定採取行動,而是金主們終於允許它採取行動了。
本文作者為美國網絡雜志Slate集團董事長
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