September 2007 Letter for Reps. Delahunt, Bachus, and LaHood

Congressman William J. Delahunt
Congressman Spencer Bachus
Congressman Ray LaHood
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.

Dear Congressman Delahunt, Congressman Bachus, and Congressman LaHood:

The undersigned groups are in strong support of the Sales Tax Fairness and Simplification Act, (H.R. 3396) which provides for fair and simple sales tax collection.

As you know, brick-and-mortar retailers are currently required to collect sales taxes, while many online and catalog retailers are not required to collect the same taxes. This is not only fundamentally unfair to Main Street retailers, but it is costing states and localities billions in lost revenue. This further threatens vital public services including health care, education, and public safety.

Responding to this unfair situation, 34 states and the District of Columbia -- working in conjunction with the business community -- approved the "Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement" on November 12, 2002. The multi-state agreement outlines a comprehensive system to simplify the states' sales tax rules. Today, 22 states, representing over 57 million constituents, have enacted legislation to change the tax laws and implement the requirements of the Agreement. In addition, more than $125 million in revenues have been voluntarily collected by businesses participating in the Agreement. This comprehensive Agreement will dramatically lower tax compliance burdens for American businesses and consumers.

The states have made great progress and we now call on Congress to respond to their efforts by passing H.R. 3396. The legislation will give those states that have complied with the Agreement the authority to require out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax on remote sales. H. R. 3396 includes a small business exception, whereby a seller with gross-remote taxable sales below $5 million is not required to collect sales taxes under the Agreement.

This legislation has the support of brick-and-mortar and online retailers; retail and real estate associations; publicly- and privately-owned shopping centers; state and local government groups; and organizations representing firefighters, teachers, police, and other public sector workers.

As Congress once again considers an extension of the federal moratorium on state and local taxes on Internet access, we would call upon Congress to first provide relief for the states and our nation's retailers by considering and passing H.R. 3396, the Sales Tax Fairness and Simplification Act.

We thank you for introducing this vital legislation and we look forward to working with you toward enactment.

Sincerely,

American Booksellers Association
Andrew's Jewelers
Cody's Books
First Washington Realty Inc.
General Growth Properties
Independent Music Retailers Association
International Council of Shopping Centers
International Union of Police
Jewelers of America
Kimco Realty
Land's End
Macerich
National Association of Chain Drug Stores
National Association of College Stores
National Association of Convenience Stores
National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts
National Conference of State Legislatures
National Governors Association
National Retail Federation
National Bicycle Dealers Association
New England Booksellers Association
Newspaper Association of America
North American Retail Dealers Association
Northern California Independent Booksellers
Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association
Performance Automotive Retailers
Performance Warehouse Association
Sears Holding Corporation
Staples
Target
Wal-Mart
Weingarten Realty
Westfield