Local First Utah Hosts Discussion on E-Fairness

On Thursday, June 30, about 25 people gathered for the panel discussion “Internet Taxation Forum: What You Need to Know About E-Fairness,” organized by Local First Utah [1]and sponsored in part by Zion’s Bank. The event, held in the Founders Room of Zion’s Bank in Salt Lake City, featured panelists on all sides of the e-fairness issue, from those in support of both state and federal solutions to those who oppose requiring remote retailers to collect and remit sales tax under any circumstances.

Panelist Betsy Burton, co-owner of The King’s English Bookshop [2] in Salt Lake City and Board chair of Local First Utah, said, “What I really liked about this panel is there were different points of view on the topic of sales tax fairness. When it’s all one side [in favor of sales tax fairness], you feel like you’re preaching. I think by bringing in the opposing view point, it allowed us to make an even stronger case for sales tax equity.”

Other panelists were Pete Ashdown, founder and CEO of Utah’s first independent and oldest Internet service provider, XMission; Scott Beck, president, Salt Lake Visitors Bureau; Dave Davis, president of the Utah Retail Merchants (URM); and John Ward, CFO of Harmons, a locally owned grocery store.

Moderating the discussion was Dr. Robert Mayer, a professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Studies at the University of Utah and author of The Consumer Movement: Guardians of the Marketplace. Mayer asked the panelists to discuss their feelings about both the state and federal solutions, the impact of sales tax fairness on the state were it to be passed, and the constitutionality of sales tax fairness laws.

Burton and Davis spoke in favor of sales tax fairness, while XMission's Ashdown discussed why he opposed it. Harmons explained why he believed a national solution was the best route to take to solve sales tax inequity.

Burton opened by stressing that “if one segment is not forced to collect and remit sales tax to the state, another segment will be at a 10 percent disadvantage.” She explained that Utah has a seven percent sales tax, but estimated that the administration functions of collecting and remitting the tax adds about another three percent. “No business can operate at a 10-percent disadvantage,” she said, adding, “It’s not the place of government to pick and choose favorites.”

When Ashdown said that state affiliate nexus laws were unconstitutional, URM’s Davis pointed out that the law had been found constitutional by New York State’s appellate court.

The event went so well, Burton said, that discussions are underway about bringing the panelists “on the road” for presentations to other local groups, such as the Rotary Club.