CCIA Opposes Online Sales Tax Collection Bill
7/29/2011
The Computer & Communications
Industry Association (CCIA) believes that the approach taken by the Main
Street Fairness Act is unwise in general and untimely given the current
economic situation. The technology industry is prepared to be a constructive
player in meaningful efforts at tax reform, but requiring Internet retailers,
especially small ones, to collect taxes across thousands of jurisdictions
is heading in the wrong direction.
The bill would allow states that have signed
onto the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement to require out-of-state
retailers to collect sales and use taxes on purchases made to residents
of their states -- regardless of physical presence. This "streamlined"
Agreement still leaves in place thousands of different state and local
tax jurisdictions and tax provisions that retailers would have to comply
with – a legal and accounting nightmare.
Imposing tax collection burdens on small
Internet businesses, which are some of the most promising candidates for
future economic growth, is unjustified and unfair. Sponsored by Sen.
Richard Durbin (D-IL) in the Senate and Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) in the
House, the bills are similar to a House bill introduced by former Rep.
William Delahunt last year, which CCIA also opposed.
The following statement can be attributed
to CCIA President & CEO Ed Black:
“E-commerce has enabled businesses to broaden
the scope of their activities beyond traditional geographic limitations.
Sadly, this bill seeks to re-impose onto e-commerce businesses the
very burdens that innovation has enabled them to overcome, and has given
them a chance for success. It would even compound their burden by
drafting them into service as remote sales tax collectors navigating the
web of multiple tax jurisdictions.
“Penalizing businesses for utilizing technology
and innovation is not fairness, but merely a shortsighted targeting of
new revenue models, while protecting existing business models at the expense
of consumers and growth.
“Innovation and entrepreneurship have always
been the engines of our economic growth, and it is counterproductive to
add to the administrative burdens of small businesses at the very moment
we need them to provide jobs and lead our economic recovery. We hope
that Congress instead takes the approach of H. Res. 95, which opposes imposing
burdensome or unfair tax collecting requirements on small online businesses.”
