Take Action to Protect Local Revenues
Allowing state and local governments the flexibility to collect taxes owed to them on remote online purchases will level the playing field between those retailers and our brick and mortar corner stores.
A 1992 Supreme Court case left state and local governments unable to enforce their sales tax laws on sales by out-of-state catalog and online sellers. As a result, billions of local tax dollars are lost each year by continuing to allow a tax-free platform to exist for purchases made via these venues. Under the current tax loophole, while brick-and-mortar retailers collect sales taxes from customers who make purchases in their stores, many online and catalog retailers do not collect the same taxes-an unfair disadvantage to the shopkeepers on main streets, who must collect those taxes.
Internet-based commerce continues to grow, but cities and states are unable to collect billions in much needed revenue unless Congress acts. While the increasing strength of electronic commerce creates exciting new marketplaces, it has also put traditional retail outlets at an unfair disadvantage because of outdated and inequitable tax and regulatory environments.
