Update, 3.3.2014: Due to snow and freezing temperatures, the hearing on online sales tax has been postponed until further notice.
The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing for 10:30 a.m. on March 4, 2014, to “explore alternative solutions on the internet sales tax issue”
Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) created 7 principles to guide the discussion of remote sales tax last September. Since then, he has welcomed ideas about the bill. Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) has been working to refine the legislation, taking into consideration the concerns of opponents to online sales tax.
The Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 would, as currently written, allow states that simplify sales tax to require certain remote retailers to collect and remit sales tax. The bill was approved by the Senate last May and has been waiting for attention in the House since then.
State solutions
Meanwhile, numerous states have tried to address the issue themselves. They have had varying degrees of success: New York’s long embattled affiliate nexus law is still in effect and Amazon.com and many other large online retailers collect the tax; Colorado’s sales and use tax notification requirement, on the other hand, has been held up in the courts; and the affiliate nexus laws in Minnesota, Maine and Missouri triggered an exodus from those states by Amazon, the world’s largest online seller.
Many players, including Amazon and the National Council of State Legislatures, are pushing for a federal solution.
Is your business prepared for a remote sales tax?
photo credit: VinothChandar via photopin cc
