( CNN ) -- Should the government keep its hands off online shopping ? According to the massive response to our stories on a proposed Internet sales tax , many of you think so . On Monday , the U.S. Senate approved the Marketplace Fairness Act . It would allow governments to collect taxes on sales that Internet retailers , from titans such as Amazon and eBay to independent app developers , make in their state . The point , supporters say , is to put traditional brick-and-mortar retailers on equal footing with digital storefronts that , in many cases , have n't been required to add tax to their prices . But in an age when many of us have gotten used to one-click , 24-hour shopping on our laptops , tablets and phones , not many of the readers of our story Monday explaining the bill seemed overly excited at the prospect . `` I will never set foot in another brick and mortar store again , '' wrote a commenter using the screen name Riynko ( who was perhaps exaggerating to make a point ) . `` Their whining just cost us all a lot of money . Let this be the nail in their coffin . '' A lot of the objections reflected traditional political arguments . Conservative-minded commenters looked at the bill not as a bid for fairness but as government digging into our wallets once again . `` Its criminal how they tax every dollar you make several times over , '' wrote CNN commenter Diraphe . `` They tax your earnings , tax your spending , tax your property , special taxes , tax your utilities , tax your gas . ... They even tax you when you die ! '' Added reader CactusThorn : `` Politicians never saw a source of income they did n't want to tap . Then they waste the money on useless projects and regulations . '' But anti-tax arguments sometimes transcended the usual left-right battles . Some comments reflected the `` keep your hands off our Internet '' mindset that has grown among online users who fear the impact both government and big business could have on a free and open Web . Reddit co-founder : I 'm not mayor of the Internet . The personal philosophies of billions of Web users obviously run the gamut . But the Internet has always had a sort of Wild West feel to it , and some commenters argue that is why it 's grown into the unprecedented force its become . `` Watching Congress debate the Marketplace Fairness Act , I 'm reminded of the Aesop 's fable where a man and his wife had a goose that laid golden eggs , '' commenter nutemanlll wrote . `` Thinking there may be more value to what 's inside the goose than the golden eggs it laid , they killed it , only to realize the value was the golden eggs . '' On Twitter , Cynthia Schames said that 's what she 's worried about . Schames runs Abbey Post , an online marketplace where users buy and sell plus-sized fashions . `` Oh goody , more taxes ! '' was her immediate , sarcastic reaction to a post from the CNN Tech Twitter account . `` Abbey Post is a 2-way marketplace . Individuals buy and sell . Only physical retailers and government wastrels want this new tax . '' In fairness , the bill as written would only tax sales by online businesses that do more than $ 1 million in sales annually outside states where they have physical operations . That would , at least in theory , exempt digital mom-and-pop shops and the random Etsy crafter . But corporations with tax attorneys on speed-dial have a way of negotiating such things , as one reader pointed out . `` All it will do is rearrange the Internet businesses , '' commenter 412ctruth wrote . `` If an eBay business does more than 1 million in business they just have to divide their company into segments . Say it is women 's clothing store , they just create a women 's shoe store , a women 's coat and jacket store , and a women 's clothing store , all doing less than 1 million dollars each and no taxes . '' IT pro and photographer Christopher Souser replied to us on Twitter : `` It wont help small businesses , it will only help large retailers . Online and offline ; choking out small online retailers . '' Of course , even among engaged Web users , disdain for the plan was n't unanimous . Some people said that with e-commerce as prominent as it 's become , it 's only fair that states should get a cut . Others worried about a future in which Web-based sales destroy hometown operations . `` As a small business owner ( and right-leaning individual ) I applaud this tax , '' commenter imo wrote . `` As a consumer it is not welcomed , but as a small business trying to compete with large corporations it absolutely levels the playing field . '' Owning a company with stores in 16 states means having to collect sales taxes in all of them , while major Web players with operations in just one or two do n't , the commenter wrote . `` There are many taxes that I disagree with , but this is not one of them . '' For it to become a reality , the bill must now clear the Republican-controlled House and be signed by President Barack Obama . It got overwhelming support from Democrats and Republicans in the Senate , but the House , much like the Internet , has been known to dance to its own tune on such matters .
CNN commenters mostly dislike the idea of an Internet sales tax . Senate passed a bill that lets governments collect on sales in their states . Critics say plan would hurt small online retailers . Commenter : `` Politicians never saw a source of income they did n't want to tap ''