Anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist and Heritage Foundation oppose the bill
By Stephen Ohlemacher
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Traditional retailers and cash-strapped states face a tough sell in the House as they lobby Congress to limit tax-free shopping on the Internet.
The Senate voted 69 to 27 Monday to pass a bill that empowers states to collect sales taxes from Internet purchases. Under the bill, states could require out-of-state retailers to collect sales taxes when they sell products over the Internet, in catalogs, and through radio and TV ads. The sales taxes would be sent to the states where a shopper lives.
Current law says states can only require retailers to collect sales taxes if the merchant has a physical presence in the state.
That means big retailers with stores all over the country like Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Target collect sales taxes when they sell goods over the Internet. But online retailers like eBay and Amazon don’t have to collect sales taxes, except in states where they have offices or distribution centers.
“This bill is about fairness,” said Republican Sen. Mike Enzi, the bill’s main sponsor in the Senate. “It’s about leveling the playing field between the brick and mortar and online companies and it’s about collecting a tax that’s already due. It’s not about raising taxes.”
The bill got bipartisan support in the Senate but faces opposition in the House, where some lawmakers regard it as a tax increase. Grover Norquist, the anti-tax advocate, and the conservative Heritage Foundation oppose the bill, and many Republicans have been wary of crossing them.
Supporters say the bill is not a tax increase. In many states, shoppers are required to pay unpaid sales tax when they file their state tax returns. However, states complain that few taxpayers comply.
“Obviously there’s a lot of consumers out there that have been accustomed to not having to pay any taxes, believing that they don’t have to pay any taxes,” said Republican Rep. Steve Womack, the bill’s main sponsor in the House. “I totally understand that, and I think a lot of our members understand that. There’s a lot of political difficulty getting through the fog of it looking like a tax increase.”
Republican House Speaker John Boehner has not commented publicly about the bill, giving supporters hope that he could be won over. Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which would have jurisdiction over the bill, has cited problems with the legislation but not rejected it outright.
Internet giant eBay led the fight against the bill in the Senate, along with lawmakers from states with no sales tax and several prominent anti-tax groups. The bill’s opponents say it would put an expensive obligation on small businesses because they are not as equipped as national merchandisers to collect sales taxes at state rates.
