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You make some good points. However, the sales tax is supposed to be a form of consumption tax (an "outgo" tax, as opposed to an "income" tax). The tax is paid by the consumer, and the retailer is simply the (quite unwilling) collection agent. However again, if you only require the b&m stores to collect that tax; then you are, in effect, subsidizing the on-line retailers by that amount.

I realize that we could go round and round on who actually pays the tax. Whole library stacks are filled with academic economics treatises on "tax incidence" (what fun I had reading those tomes!). Regardless of all that, if you require the b&m retailers to collect the tax, and don't require the on-line retailers to do the same; you have created a tax that is (even) more unfair than necessary.

Alas, internet sales are a portable business. MN apparently doesn't want anyone inside MN to make any money off the activity.

This is the use of taxes to destroy your own people ~ kind of like Assad using sarin, but in this instance they'll just move next door to Wisconsin.

BTW, in Virginia the gub’mnt pays the merchants for collecting the sales tax. Note, it is not mandatory that you sell, so it’s a voluntary act!