Politicians and Retailers Conspire to Impose Sales Tax Cartel

As reported by Tax-news.com, a collection of trade associations is calling on Congress to impose the so-called Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement on all states. Their argument is that it is unfair to let online companies make tax-free sales to out-of-state consumers (states routinely choose not to tax their retailers who make such sales). There is an inequity in the current approach, to be sure, but politicians (with help from naive business groups) are picking the wrong solution. Creating a nationwide tax cartel - one that will require a massive invasion of privacy because of a database of online purchases -- will insulate politicians from competition by making it extremely difficult for consumers to shop where taxes are lower. The right way to deal with the inequity is for states to apply their sales taxes (ideally at a low rate) on a non-discriminatory basis. In other words, the sales tax would apply to all sales made in a state, regardless of whether a good is sold in person or online, and regardless of whether the customer is an in-state resident or out-of-state resident. This would eliminate an inequity, preserve tax competition, and protect privacy.

The US National Retail Federation and nearly 100 retailers and trade associations are urging Congress to approve legislation making it easier to require internet merchants, mail-order houses and other “remote sellers” to collect sales tax across state lines. Coalition members are hoping to see action this fall on the Sales Tax Fairness and Simplification Act, which is pending in both the House and Senate. The measure would allow states that have implemented the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement to require that out-of-state merchants collect sales tax on merchandise sold to residents of their states. ...While the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement went into effect on a voluntary basis in 2005, the coalition says that passage of federal legislation is needed before sales tax collection can become mandatory. Thus far, 22 states have passed legislation implementing the agreement. In addition, more than 1,000 companies have participated in the agreement voluntarily, and have collected more than $125 million in state and local sales tax that would otherwise have gone unpaid. The NRF helped draft the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, and has long argued that remote sellers enjoy an unfair price advantage in situations where they are not required to collect sales tax. The NRF wants a level playing field where all retailers are subject to the same tax rules when their merchandise is sold from a store, through a catalog or over the internet.