Should an in-state sales tax apply to online purchases of in-state buyers from out-of-state sellers?

Last answered 47 minutes ago

Yes

59,856 votes

35%

No

111,929 votes

65%

Distribution of answers submitted by American voters.

30%

Yes

57%

No

5%

Yes, exempting online retailers from sales taxes is not fair to traditional stores

8%

No, the federal government does not have the authority to impose state and local taxes

2 Yes answers

2 No answers

0 overlapping answers

Data includes total votes submitted by visitors since Jun 20, 2016. For users that answer more than once (yes we know), only their most recent answer is counted in the total results. Total percentages may not add up to exactly 100% as we allow users to submit "grey area" stances that may not be categorized into yes/no stances.

The Marketplace Fairness Act would allow state governments to collect sales taxes from online retailers who do not have a physical location in their state and have revenues of over $1 Million per year. Online retailers would be responsible for collecting the taxes and distributing them to state and local governments. Proponents of the bill include brick and mortar retailers who argue that exempting online retailers from sales taxes penalizes traditional stores who are forced to charge customers higher prices due to cover the tax. Opponents argue that since online retailers do not use local services funded by sales taxes they should be exempt and that the federal government should not get involved in state tax issues.  See recent online sales tax news