Fairness on Sales Taxes

[Commentary] Twenty-one years is a long time to wait. But that is how long local retailers have waited for Congress to undo a 1992 Supreme Court decision that exempted many online retailers, like Amazon, from collecting most state sales taxes.

The exemption has given online sellers a 5 percent to 10 percent price advantage over Main Street stores. The wait, however, may soon be over. Next week, the Senate is expected to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, a bipartisan bill that would authorize states to require out-of-state sellers with more than $1 million in sales to collect sales taxes. The states, in turn, must simplify their sales-tax codes and give retailers free software to calculate the taxes — steps already taken by most states. An identical bill in the House also has bipartisan support.

The proposed law would close a loophole, not impose new taxes. It’s a matter of efficiency and fairness, of necessity and competitiveness. If those really are bipartisan values, the Senate will act without further delay to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act, and the House will follow suit.