Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/739734
34 S C T / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 6 bill introduced by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) — the Remote Transactions Parity Act. A third House bill — No Regulation Without Representation Act — would maintain the status quo, by which only those retailers with a physical presence in a state are required to collect sales taxes. Losing patience along with sorely needed revenues, some states have given up waiting for Congress to enact laws requiring online-only retailers to collect sales taxes. So they are doing it themselves. But some observers, while sympathetic to the call for an even play- ing field for physical retailers and e- tailers alike, say this threatens to create a complex tangle of rules for U.S. retail- ers and consumers. "It is not surprising that states, frus- trated by inaction in Congress, have felt compelled to respond individually," McGee said of the nearly 50 bills intro- duced in various state legislatures this year alone. "However, our goal remains a bipartisan, bicameral solution at the federal level, and we continue to work with congressional leaders to address and reconcile different views and ap- proaches on this matter." Today U.S. shoppers are required to pay sales-and-use tax at the time of purchase in 45 states. In those instances where the consumer in one of those states made an online purchase but was not charged by the e-tailer, the tax obli- gation falls on the consumer to report and pay the tax owed. By not charging and remitting a sales tax, online-only sellers enjoy a competitive advantage over physical retailers, which are forced to collect these taxes from their custom- ers. As a result, state and local govern- ments are unable to collect billions of dollars in revenue owed to them each year. Approximately $23.1 billion in sales tax went uncollected in 2012 alone, according to a University of Ten- nessee study. The issue actually predates the rise of Internet sales, with the most recent case being a 1992 Supreme Court decision — Quill Corp. v. North Da- kota — in which the court ruled that a state may require only a business with a physical presence in that particular state to collect sales tax. "That creates an unlevel playing field between physi- cal retailers and those operating only online," said McGee. "The Internet is a mature business, and online-only businesses should be treated in the same way as their brick-and-mortar counterparts." ICSC is one of many organizations advocating for "e-fairness," or legal changes to help states and local govern- ments collect the taxes due for online and mail-order purchases — also called remote sales. Dashed hopes for relief from Capi- tol Hill ultimately pushed state lawmak- ers to take up the problem, according to Max Behlke, manager of state-federal relations at the National Council of State Legislatures. "Our membership still would like a federal solution," I C S C M E M B E R S A N D S T A F F M E E T I N G W I T H R E P . S T E V E ( L E F T ) F E A T U R E