Online Sales Tax May Become Part of Tax “Reform”

economicpolicyjournal.com
February 20, 2012

Don’t trust tax “reform” for one minute. It is about increasing the tax take.

The Hill reports:

[...]advocates acknowledge that tax reform could give them the chance to tack their proposal onto a larger legislative package — and that they’d jump at that offer, if given the choice.

Given the partisan differences on Capitol Hill, lawmakers backing the bill say that attaching the online sales tax bill to a broader measure may be the proposal’s best shot anyway.

Though some think that even if tax “reform” gets bog down, an online sales tax stand-alone bill might make it through Congress.

The Hill again:

Other backers of the online sales tax measure remain confident that their issue won’t have to be bogged down in the tax reform debate.

At Thursday’s news conference, Durbin emphasized the bill’s bipartisan support, which includes backing from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

“Senator Durbin expressed confidence that we will get it passed this year and indicated that Sen. Reid was committed to getting it done as well,” said Jason Brewer, vice president for communications and advocacy at the Retail Industry Leaders Association.
“Coupled with the fact that the bill already has broad bipartisan support, we feel very strong about movement in the Senate,” he said.

Under current law, states can only collect sales taxes from retailers that have a physical presence in their state. People who order items online from another state are supposed to declare the purchases on their tax forms, but few do.

Prominent GOP governors — Chris Christie of New Jersey, Rick Snyder of Michigan and Bob McDonnell of Virginia, among others —have lobbied to give states more authority to collect online sales taxes, reports The Hill.

This article was posted: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 at 11:26 am

Tags: domestic news, internet, technology

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