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The Alliance for Main Street Fairness is an advocacy group dedicated to ending what it sees as unfair tax advantages for online-only retailers with respect to the collection of sales taxes.

State legislation

Arkansas

As of March 2011, Senate Bill 738 is pending in the Arkansas state legislature. The bill requires online retailers to remit sales tax for purchases shipped to Arkansas. Sen. Jake Files, the sponsor of the legislation, said that he introduced the legislation in order to treat traditional retailers more fairly and to create awareness among consumers about the requirement to pay use tax on purchases made online.

California

Main Street supports legislation introduced by Nancy Skinner in the state assembly that requires out-of-state online sellers with affiliates in California to collect sales tax on purchases made by state residents. The affiliate provision was included in Assembly Bill 153 to ensure that only sellers with a California nexus are taxed, as required by federal law. "This legislation will close the current loophole in tax law which has allowed out-of-state companies to avoid collecting California sales and use tax," stated Skinner. Skinner estimated that AB153 could produce between $250 million and $500 million per year in new revenue. She and other supporters of the bill believe that the election of Jerry Brown to the governorship and support from retailers such as Barnes & Noble will help the measure become law.Skinner pushed legislation to tax online sales that was approved in 2009 as part of the state budget. Gov. Arnold Schwarznegger vetoed the legislation.

In response to threats by Amazon to sever its relations with affiliates in California, Main Street said, "California cannot allow companies like Amazon to put a gun to the state’s head demanding special treatment. If Amazon chooses to damage their own business model and their relationships with California’s online community, that’s their choice. Other companies will gladly fill the void and work with California’s online affiliates. Many of Amazon’s brick-and-mortar competitors have online relationships with California affiliates and collect the sales tax, and they will undoubtedly expand that presence if Amazon makes the mistake of creating a vacuum."

Illinois

In March of 2011 Governor Pat Quinn signed the Main Street Fairness Act into law. The law seeks to expand the collection of sales taxes to items purchased online by Illinois residents. The law targets online retailers who have sales affiliates located in the state. Quinn said, "This law will put Illinois-based businesses on a level playing field, protect and create jobs and help us continue to grow in the global marketplace."

Main Street praised Governor Quinn for signing this legislation. In a press release the group said, "In Illinois, small business retailers are the backbone of the state's economy and are vital components of the community, and they have been operating at a significant disadvantage as online-only retailers have exploited a decades-old loophole to gain an unfair and artificial advantage in the marketplace. By signing HB 3659, Quinn ensures that all businesses will compete on the same playing field, collecting the sales tax at the point of purchase whether they operate on the Internet or in Illinois' communities."

Tennessee

in March of 2011 Main Street ran advertisements opposing the efforts of Tennessee officials, including Gov. Bill Haslam, to finalize an agreement with Amazon.com that would exempt the company from collecting sales taxes in exchange for opening two distribution centers in the state. “Why would the state let Amazon get away with not collecting and paying the biggest source of revenue in Tennessee: its sales tax?” one ad said.

Background

Streamlined Sales Tax Project

Organized in March 2000, the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP) objective is to simplify and modernize sales and use tax collection and administration in the United States. It arose in response to efforts by Congress to permanently prohibit states from collecting sales taxes on online commerce. Because such a ban would have serious financial consequences for states, the SSTP began as an effort to try to minimize the many differences between the sales tax policies and practices of states. Organizers of the SSTP hope that by ironing out differences among state taxation levels, they will remove a major roadblock to the collection of taxes on online sales and convince Congress and the courts to allow them to collect these taxes regularly.

Quill Corp. v. North Dakota

Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992) is a Supreme Court ruling concerning use tax. Quill Corporation is an office supply retailer. The Tax Commissioner of North Dakota attempted to require Quill to collect and pay use tax on sales shipped into the state.The Quill court reversed the decision of the North Dakota Supreme Court requiring Quill to collect and remit sales taxes on purchases made by customers from that state.

National Bellas Hess v. Department of Revenue

In National Bellas Hess v. Department of Revenue, 386 U.S. 753, 87 S.Ct. 1389 (1967), the Supreme Court ruled that a mail order reseller was not required to collect sales tax unless it had some physical contact with the state.

References

1. "Senate bill would add sales tax to out of state online purchases". KTHV. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
2. Russian investment gives Plastic Logic flexibility, by Andrew S. Ross, The San Francisco Chronicle, 19 January 2011
3. ^ California lawmaker pushes to tax online sales, by Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jaunary 2011
4. Major retailers back bid for 'Amazon tax', by Kevin Yamamura, Sacremento Bee, 20 January 2011
5. "California Myth vs. Fact". Alliance for Main Street Fairness. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
6. "Illinois governor signs bill targeting Internet sales". Reuters. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
7. "Alliance For Main Street Fairness Praises Pat Quinn" (Press release). Alliance for Main Street Fairness. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
8. "Group pushes back on Amazon tax deal". Nashville Business Journal. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
9. "QUILL CORP. v. NORTH DAKOTA, BY AND THROUGH ITS TAX COMMISSIONER, HEITKAMP 504 U.S. 298". Justia. Retrieved 2008-10-18.

External links

• The Alliance for Main Street Fairness

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