“A Democratic senator is preparing to introduce legislation that aims to end the golden era of tax-free Internet shopping,” Declan McCullagh reports for CNET.
“The proposal–expected to be made public soon after Tax Day [April 18]–would rewrite the ground rules for Internet and mail order sales by eliminating the ability of Americans to shop at Web sites like Amazon.com and Overstock.com without paying state sales taxes,” McCullagh reports. “Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second most senior Senate Democrat, will introduce the bill after the Easter recess, a Democratic aide told CNET. ‘Why should out-of-state companies that sell their products online have an unfair advantage over Main Street bricks-and-mortar businesses?’ Durbin said in a speech in Collinsville, Ill., in February… Durbin’s bill will be called the Main Street Fairness Act.”
“Making matters more difficult for the pro-tax forces is the decision by Rep. William Delahunt, a Massachusetts Democrat, not to run for reelection last year. Delahunt was probably Congress’ most enthusiastic proponent of Internet sales taxes, and it’s not clear a Republican-controlled House will be as eager to embrace the idea,” McCullagh reports. “One early indication: Rep. Dan Lungren, a California Republican, introduced legislation in February saying that allowing states to levy “onerous and burdensome sales tax collecting schemes on Internet-enabled small businesses that do not even reside in their state would adversely impact hundreds of thousands of jobs.” Former GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul is one of the sponsors.”
McCullagh reports, “The Direct Marketing Association, which sued Colorado last year to block a state tax law from taking effect, is preparing to rally opposition to Durbin’s legislation… Support for Durbin’s forthcoming legislation is likely to come from the Alliance for Main Street Fairness and like-minded companies including WalMart and Best Buy.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]