With all news around #confirmgorsuch happening, you might have missed some of the wranglings down at the State Capitol. One bill that seemed particularly great was a bill that would protect online shoppers’ personal information, which could be revealed to the state government via the Amazon Bill. Too bad state Sen. Congressional candidate Andy Kerr disagrees. Creeper.
According to Complete Colorado, here’s the gist of the Amazon bill:
“That bill requires online retailers who do not collect Colorado sales tax provide the Department of Revenue with a list of customers who made purchases on which tax was not collected. It also requires retailers to notify purchasers of their state use tax obligation by email rather than first class mail.”
Preventing the State of Colorado from having an inventory of all the weird stuff you bought online seems like a good idea. According to Americans for Prosperity’s Patty Kurgan, who testified in favor of the bill to protect consumer information, this could violate Coloradans’ privacy in many ways.
“This is a privacy issue and will reveal information that does not concern the state. It can bring embarrassment or harm if this information is leaked to third parties. The state will expose shopping habits of its citizens and can make assumptions, not all accurate, on someone’s sexuality, political leanings, their guns, health, and financial circumstances.”
She’s right. Sometimes people buy items online not to skirt taxes, but because whatever they’re buying might reveal something that they would rather a cashier not know. We assume would go for the state bureaucracy. Unfortunately, Kerr against the bill. Fortunately, Republicans still control the state Senate, so it doesn’t matter.
But with Andy Kerr poised to run for Ed Perlmutter’s seat since Perlmutter is running for Governor, we have to wonder how this invasion of privacy would play among his wannabe constituents. Where does Rep. Brittany Petterson come down on this issue? We’d love to know since she, too, is running for Perlmutter’s seat.