Retailers urge passage of internet sales tax bill, NRF
07 Dec '07
3 min read
A witness testifying on behalf of the National Retail Federation urged a congressional committee to approve sales tax simplification legislation that would make it easier to require Internet merchants, mail-order houses and other “remote sellers” to collect sales tax across state lines.
“We are here to ask you to level the playing field between sellers that collect sales tax and those who cannot be required to collect the tax because they do business in the community on a virtual rather than physical basis,” J.C. Penney Corporation Inc. Vice President and Associate General Counsel-Tax Wayne Zakrzewski said. “Many of our competitors do not collect, which gives them a competitive advantage. This is not because they are innovative or provide incremental value to the consumer, but because the states do not have the ability to require collection of a tax that is due from the consumer.”
“We believe there are compelling reasons why Congress should act now to level the playing field,” Zakrzewski, whose multi-state company collects sales tax on in-store, catalog and Internet purchases alike, said. “Passage of H.R. 3396 into law would be the appropriate next step to a modern, fair and responsive sales tax system across all participating states and sellers.”
In addition to putting local businesses at a disadvantage, the lack of sales tax collection forces state and local governments to increase other taxes to make up for the lost revenue, ultimately impacting consumers, Zakrzewski said.
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