Report: Trump backs push to collect online sales tax
President Donald Trump is supporting traditional retailers when it comes to requiring states to collect sales taxes for online purchases.
President Trump’s stance backs an appeal by South Dakota that the Supreme Court should overturn a law passed in 1992 that says companies with no physical presence in a state are not required to collect a state sales tax on purchases. The change could generate billions of dollars in revenue, according to Reuters.
In a legal brief filed on Monday with the Supreme Court, the U.S. Department of Justice said the 1992 ruling no longer applies since online companies can replicate the shopping experience of a physical store — even where it has no physical property, the report explained.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimated in a November report that states and municipalities could gain between $8 billion and $13 billion in annual revenue if they could require online retailers to collect sales tax. Forty-five of the 50 states have a statewide sales tax, the report said.
Some online retailers, including leading player Amazon, already collect state sales tax — but others, including Wayfair, Overstock and Newegg only collect sales taxes from customers in some states.
The justices are scheduled to hear arguments on April 17, and a ruling is expected by late June.
To read more, click here.
President Trump’s stance backs an appeal by South Dakota that the Supreme Court should overturn a law passed in 1992 that says companies with no physical presence in a state are not required to collect a state sales tax on purchases. The change could generate billions of dollars in revenue, according to Reuters.
In a legal brief filed on Monday with the Supreme Court, the U.S. Department of Justice said the 1992 ruling no longer applies since online companies can replicate the shopping experience of a physical store — even where it has no physical property, the report explained.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimated in a November report that states and municipalities could gain between $8 billion and $13 billion in annual revenue if they could require online retailers to collect sales tax. Forty-five of the 50 states have a statewide sales tax, the report said.
Some online retailers, including leading player Amazon, already collect state sales tax — but others, including Wayfair, Overstock and Newegg only collect sales taxes from customers in some states.
The justices are scheduled to hear arguments on April 17, and a ruling is expected by late June.
To read more, click here.