NO, businesses do not support this bill and they are NOT losing sales to the internet.
Absolutely nothing stops any brick and mortar store from selling on the internet. I do.
Pretending this is about fairness is crap. Business owners too stupid or lazy to figure out how to sell on the internet are now whining that somebody stole their cheese. It’s BS, what they are really demanding is protection from competition.
The worst part of this bill is that it makes many small businesses liable for sales tax collection in states that they have no physical presence in (unlike the big box stores who all have their own websites). This is about big business using the power of government to hamper smaller competitors.
Messing with the concept of nexus based on physical presence to establish legal jurisdiction enshrines taxation without representation and further erodes our freedom.
It’s a bad law that is stupidly written and creates a complex system while ignoring the simple fix that requires no federal legislation whatsoever.
States have always had the power to enact origin based sales tax and have their businesses charge sales tax on ALL sales whether physical or virtual, basically making internet shoppers virtual tourists who must pay the sales tax on purchases made in the state they are visiting.
It’s that simple. but politicians prefer a complicated system that asserts vastly more control while eroding a basic legal concept of jurisdiction based on physical presence.
So stop spreading the lie that it’s about fairness or that business wants this. Some do, but not for honest reasons.
Bingo and worse this will end of hurting Brick and Mortars. What is stopping their localities from raising taxes? The Internet.
Once that’s gone they’ll all raise taxes up. We’re ready to do just that right here in Illinois.