States Move To Clamp Down On Tax Collection By Online Retailers
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Fed up with inaction by Congress, several states are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to collecting tax on the sales of online goods.
At least 12 states are moving to impose taxes themselves, and that has trade groups and online retailers worried.
"We're worrying about the smaller sellers. Should they have to be subject to 46 state audits, and a thousand different sets of jurisdictions with different rates and rules," Steve Del Bianco, Executive Director of NetChoice, an E-Commerce trade group said.
Del Bianco says that finding the tax rates for customers around the U.S. isn't the hard part.
"That could be free, but it's free like a puppy is free. Once you get it in the house, you have to integrate it into all your in-house systems, whether it's phone order, store, or online - you have to integrate both for orders and returns, for custom orders, for adjustments. And, all that systems integration is where the expense lies, and that kind of expense can be devastating for smaller businesses," Del Bianco said.
