- Feb 12, 2007
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A Real Life "Anti Dog Eat Dog" bill"
The Main Street Fairness Act
A bill introduced in Congress yesterday would require Internet retailers to collect sales tax regardless of whether they have a physical presence in a customers state. The Main Street Fairness Act would apply to the states, currently totaling 23, that have simplified their tax laws as members of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement.
The bills sponsor, Rep. Bill Delahunt (D, MA), says its intended to help states recover an estimated $18.6 billion in sales tax revenue from online purchases that will go uncollected this year, a figure that he says will reach at least $23 billion in 2012. From 2009 to 2012, this amounts to a loss of approximately $55 billion, he says. In some cases, these revenue losses can comprise up to one-half of a states budget shortfall.
Most of the new tax revenue likely would come not from sales taxes on retail sales but by taxing online business-to-business sales. A 2005 study by the University of Tennessee's Center for Business and Economic Research projected that states would lose $6.84 billion in 2008 by not taxing Internet and catalog retail sales, but that the potential revenue from taxing B2B web sales would be in the range of $21.54 to $33.68 billion....
Legal/Regulatory - Online sales tax proposed in Congress - Internet Retailer
The Main Street Fairness Act
A bill introduced in Congress yesterday would require Internet retailers to collect sales tax regardless of whether they have a physical presence in a customers state. The Main Street Fairness Act would apply to the states, currently totaling 23, that have simplified their tax laws as members of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement.
The bills sponsor, Rep. Bill Delahunt (D, MA), says its intended to help states recover an estimated $18.6 billion in sales tax revenue from online purchases that will go uncollected this year, a figure that he says will reach at least $23 billion in 2012. From 2009 to 2012, this amounts to a loss of approximately $55 billion, he says. In some cases, these revenue losses can comprise up to one-half of a states budget shortfall.
Most of the new tax revenue likely would come not from sales taxes on retail sales but by taxing online business-to-business sales. A 2005 study by the University of Tennessee's Center for Business and Economic Research projected that states would lose $6.84 billion in 2008 by not taxing Internet and catalog retail sales, but that the potential revenue from taxing B2B web sales would be in the range of $21.54 to $33.68 billion....
Legal/Regulatory - Online sales tax proposed in Congress - Internet Retailer
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It's a shame that the great unwashed could just not be satisfied with not seeing it, but worked so hard to effect others. On to the next witch hunt. 
