TOPIC: WEB SALES AND ECOMMERCE AFFECTS ON SMALL BUSINESSES

topic: web sales and ecommerce and how it affects small businesses



Web Sales and E-Commerce:

E-commerce, also known as electronic communication, includes the purchase and sale of electronic different items over the internet. Volume growth of electronic transactions has increased dramatically. Commercial use in this way, promote wire transfer, supply chain management, on-line selling, on-line dealing processing, electronically interchanging the data, stock management system, automatic information accumulation systems and modern artwork. Advanced electronic commerce mostly employs the internet at least some of matters in the development view, although it can let in, such as electronic mail, cell phone devices and phones technology, and more extensive range.

Applying E-Commerce to Business:

Some of the applications that needs to be added in an e-commerce website include

Papers automation in its logistics functions.

System of payment with in the country as well as outside the country.

Electronic mails.

Company's material management.

Buying in bulk

Immediate delivering the message.

Advertising.

Online shopping

Availability of banking facilities over the internet.

Office suites over the internet.

Software that provides a cart to customers for shopping over the website.

Video conference should be available.

Electronic tickets.

Regulations by the Government:

In US, a number of e-business activities are controlled by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). These include commercial electronic mails, advertising over the web and the use of consumer privacy. 2003 CAN - SPAM Act established a national direct marketing via electronic mails. The FTC Act provides that all kinds of advertising including advertising over the internet must be truthful and not deceptive. The Federal Trade Commission Act under the provisions of Sect 5 prohibits unfair or deceptive acts; the authority of the Federal Trade Commission brought many events, to implement the company commitment to the privacy statement, involving the security of personal information of the customers(Abijit, C. & Kuilboer, J, 2002). Any company privacy policy on e-commerce activities may be subject to the Federal Trade Commission law enforcement.

Tax policies for E-Commerce websites:

There are tax policies for e-commerce websites as well. Just like the normal sales tax, the tax that these different e-commerce websites are required to pay is called use tax. It is the same as the sales tax with only one difference which is that sales tax is collected for the physical selling of products and services whereas the use tax is collected for the transactions that occurs between the customers and the e-commerce businesses (Jonathan, D. & Patrick, R, 2006).

The problems that the tax collectors are facing in collecting the taxes from these e-commerce websites is that they don't have any physical record in front of them which details them about the number of transactions that have taken place over a website between customers and the e-commerce businesses. Tax officials have no practical way of finding out what Internet shoppers are buying, and e-tailers aren't required to collect the tax unless they have a physical presence in the state.

Moreover, many e-commerce businesses have also opposed this collection of tax by the tax collectors from them on the basis that they realistically don't have ...