The U.S. Senate has taken another step toward a vote on the Marketplace Fairness Act, which will allow states to collect tax on internet sellers who have no physical store within their borders.
On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed the cloture motion to end debate on the Marketplace Fairness act, and move toward a final vote. That is expected as soon as Monday.
NAED has sent out this recommendation on Friday morning, April 19, 2013:
Please reach out to your US Senators and ask them to support the vote on cloture for the Marketplace Fairness Act. Under the current practice, local retailers, including electrical distributors are at the mercy of a 6% to 10% price disadvantage when competing with online sellers’ tax-free prices.
The Act is a carefully crafted and well-balanced bill. The bill relieves consumes of having to self-report sales/use taxes already owed; exempts small businesses with annual remote sales less and $1 million; promotes states’ rights; and creates a framework for states to adopt that reflects today’s evolving marketplace. Most importantly, the Marketplace Fairness Act will encourage greater competition in the marketplace by ensuring that many “brick and mortar” businesses are able to compete with online sellers’ prices.
Write to your legislators today and urge them to pass legislation on this issue. Find more details on the NAED Government Action Center. Please contact us at governmentaffairs@naed.org with any questions.
A 1992 Supreme Court ruling prohibits the states from collecting the tax, saying it was too burdensome. But due to changes in technology, that burden has disappeared.
The senate is likely to pass the Act once it comes to the floor. 28 senators are co-sponsors of the bill, and just last month, the senate voted 75-24 to include the impending internet sales tax in the U.S. budget.
Reid’s move would allow the bill to move forward on an expedited schedule by skipping hearings. Supporters of the Marketplace Fairness Act have been trying for years to get a bill passed in Congress.
Supporters of the bill argue that brick-and-mortar businesses have a significant disadvantage because they have to charge a sales tax of 5 percent to 10 percent, while many internet sellers do not. Internet sellers that also have a store in a buyer’s state do charge sales tax, and some e-commerce sites, including Amazon.com, have begun to voluntarily collect sales tax for some states.
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