Amazon Tax/Submissions

In the “You Can’t Hide from the Taxman” department, beginning in 2017, your Amazon purchases will cost you more, as in 8% more if you live in Alabama. The new source of revenue is expected to generate at least 15 million for the general fund and 5 million for education in its first year.

This is a universal tax, meaning if you purchase a 1954 copy of your favorite novel in less than pristine condition, you’ll still be paying tax as if you purchased a new book at Books-a-Million. We don’t know if this tax will be charged on shipping or not (Amazon currently collects its pound of cyber-flesh from vendors on shipping as well as merchandise), but we do predict a very slight uptick in sales for e-Bay.

If you purchase e-books, you may wish to consider checking Smashwords or similar sites for the title in order to avoid the tax. Just remember, you didn’t hear that here.

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A clarification: We happily publish your submissions that abide by our guidelines. We can publish anonymously from “a reader” or if you’re a regular, we can give you a pen name. If you want your name used as the author of the submission, we’re also happy to publish your identity.

We will not publish names of non-public persons. This means if you write an article about the Zip City Metropolitan Opera and mention Mayor Cleophus Smuckpucker isn’t keeping the concert venue in good condition, we’ll leave the article unedited. If you mention that ticket clerk Alabaster Smuckpucker is stealing from the till, we will remove the name when we publish your article.

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It’s easy to take things and even people for granted. We sincerely thank those who regularly contribute to our blogs, but receive no financial remuneration. Yet offerings from J. Redmon, the Midnight Rider, Cherry Pitts, and H.D. always receive huge ratings. Thank you one and all.

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Perhaps the worst oversight one can make is not properly thanking special friends for their constant, and many times totally undeserved, encouragement and friendship. Thank you, Si, for always being there.