Yesterday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie urged Congress to support Sen. Lamar Alexander’s Marketplace Fairness Act to give states the option to decide how to deal with the current sales tax collection loophole. Gov. Christie’s statement is another strong conservative voice in the growing chorus for Congressional action.
“There’s been no bigger issue facing retailers than sales tax fairness,” said John Holub, President of the New Jersey Retail Merchants Association. “Governor Christie’s support for the Marketplace Fairness Act is great news and adds add to the momentum for Congress to level the playing field for all retailers.”
Gov. Christie expressed his support for the Marketplace Fairness Act during a press conference to announce a deal with Amazon where the company will begin collecting and remitting sales tax on orders placed by New Jersey residents no later than July 1, 2013.
Retail is retail: online or in a store, all retailers should be able compete on a level playing field without state sales tax codes picking winners and losers. Real retailers face this issue on a daily basis. Teresa Miller, owner of Treats Unleashed pet supply store in St. Louis, explains the sales tax collection issue hurts retailers’ “ability to plan because things are not set out for the future…if things were simplified and planned we would really know better how to compete in the online space and in the different communities.”
Gov. Christie’s endorsement comes only days after NRF kicked off our 60-day e-fairness campaign to raise awareness with lawmakers and the public about the sales tax collection loophole. Join retailers in your community like Teresa and tell Congress it’s time to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act by signing our e-fairness campaign petition today.
One Comment
Thank you Gov. Chris Christie and Amazon executive Paul Meisner.
Just as many taxpayers have been unaware of their honorable obligations requiring them to individually remit use tax on Internet purchases, so are some consumers and business owners unaware of the benefits awaiting them with passage of Federal legislation. Consumers will no longer be burdened with the task having to track and remit use tax on their individual returns. Business owners will discover technology freely available on the Internet easily automates tax processing for any jurisdiction in any state eliminating legacy tax procedures. In addition, many governments now realize utilizing modern technology a greater percentage of each tax dollar honorably remitted funds intended programs effectively shrinking unnecessary bureaucracies.
As a small business owner I strongly support and urge Congress to immediately pass S.1832 the Marketplace Fairness Act.
Once again thank you.