Sales Tax Initiative

On Tuesday, March 19, in advance of the Senate’s landslide vote in favor of sales tax fairness, ABA joined with Jewelers of America to meet with key U.S. senators and representatives in Washington, D.C., in support of the Marketplace Fairness Act (S.336/H.R.684).

On Friday, March 22, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved, by a vote of 75-24, a budget resolution amendment in support of sales tax fairness.

ABA is encouraging booksellers to ask their federal lawmakers to support the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, legislation that would give states the authority to require remote retailers to collect and remit sales tax on purchases made by customers in their state.

As a bipartisan coalition of U.S. lawmakers seeks to pass federal sales tax fairness legislation, a Utah Senate committee approved an affiliate-nexus bill sponsored by Sen. Wayne Harper, and in West Virginia, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has proposed legislation that would require remote retailers with warehouses in the state to collect and remit sales tax.

Today, February 20, is the date set by state of Georgia for all retailers to submit sales taxes collected for the month of January. Legislation, which went into effect on January 1, made clear that Amazon.com has nexus in Georgia and is therefore required to collect sales tax on purchases made by state residents.

On Thursday, February 14, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators and representatives announced the introduction of a sales tax fairness bill that would give states the authority to require remote retailers to collect and remit sales tax on purchases made by customers in their state.

On Monday, February 4, the Indiana House of Representatives passed sales tax fairness legislation that would require remote retailers with nexus in the state via online affiliates or warehouses to collect and remit sales tax to the state beginning July 1, 2013.

More than two years after a New York State appellate court dismissed claims by Amazon.com and Overstock.com that the state’s sales tax fairness law was unconstitutional, on Wednesday, February 6, the defendants were back in court arguing their case, this time before the State of New York Court of Appeals.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy has announced that as of November 1, 2013, Amazon.com will begin collecting state sales tax in exchange for opening a distribution center in Connecticut and bringing jobs to the state.

The national landscape regarding equitable sales tax collection has shifted dramatically, according to figures tabulated by ABA.