Sales Tax Initiative

Just weeks after California Gov. Jerry Brown signed sales tax fairness into law, Amazon.com has filed a petition with the California Attorney General’s Office seeking a voter referendum to overturn the law. In response, ABA, NCIBA, and SCIBA will be reaching out to the California Board of Equalization to urge the Board to enforce the law.

An Internet Taxation Forum organized by Local First Utah 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.

In the wake of the recent passage of California’s sales tax fairness law, booksellers expressed happiness at the hard-fought victory, noting that it creates a level playing field and will improve the state’s economy, add jobs, and help struggling businesses.

In a decision with potential ramifications for other states, Tennessee’s Office of the Attorney General recently issued an opinion stating that it was “constitutionally defensible” for a state to require a remote retailer with a distribution facility or subsidiary in the state to collect and remit sales tax to the state.

In a hard-fought and significant legislative victory, on Wednesday, June 29, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a sales tax fairness provision into law. The e-fairness win for independent bookstores and Main Street retailers follows more than a decade of advocacy efforts, which saw sustained opposition and many near-victories.

In California, it’s still an open question whether Gov. Jerry Brown will sign sales tax fairness into law, while an affiliate nexus bill fell short in Louisiana. Meanwhile, Amazon.com is attempting to negotiate a five-year sales tax exemption in Texas.

On Thursday, California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a proposed budget that contained a sales tax fairness provision. However, the sales tax fairness campaign in the state is not over. In vetoing the budget, Gov. Brown did not single out the sales tax fairness provision as a contibuting factor.

On June 7, the same day Amazon.com opened its shareholders meeting in Seattle, the Alliance for Main Street Fairness ran full-page newspaper ads decrying the online retailers attempt to evade its obligation to collect and remit sales tax in states where it has nexus.

On Monday, June 13, the Louisiana House of Representatives approved legislation that would require remote retailers with online affiliates in the state to collect and remit sales tax for orders made by Louisiana residents.

On Wednesday, June 1, the Performance Marketing Association, a trade association of online affiliates and large online retailers — including Amazon.com — filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Illinois’ affiliate nexus law.