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.
Response rates from 234k America voters.
35% Yes |
65% No |
31% Yes |
56% No |
5% Yes, exempting online retailers from sales taxes is not fair to traditional stores |
7% No, the federal government does not have the authority to impose state and local taxes |
1% No, customers should pay the sales tax from the seller’s state |
Trend of support over time for each answer from 234k America voters.
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Trend of how important this issue is for 234k America voters.
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Unique answers from America voters whose views went beyond the provided options.
@8JCJLWV5yrs5Y
Yes, some version of this is probably appropriate. As always, more thought is needed.
@B5Z8YT91wk1W
Yes, but only if it’s done fairly and doesn’t crush small sellers or make online shopping unaffordable.
@B5B3B8Q2mos2MO
No but a financial impact study should be conducted to determine if and how a change could be made to keep the state whole.
@9ZLGK85 8mos8MO
Although the federal government does not have the authority needed to impose state and local taxes, they should be obligated to help state and local governments collect the taxes should the state and local governments desire federal government support in collecting taxes from online retailers.
@9WVXHNQ9mos9MO
I think that because the internet is internationally accessible, commerce provided should be delt with separately.
@9VH82269mos9MO
Only if shipping is not free for their customers and or they have a physical store if not they should be exempt since shipping costs a bit
@9TQ8JH610mos10MO
The nexus test is obsolete in the internet age. In state vendors are placed at a disadvantage vs out of state vendors if consumers have sales tax liability for purchases from the former but not the latter. Institute a federal "interstate use tax" on interstate transactions of taxable goods (yes, I know the scope varies by state, that will be up to the Congress) which are not subject to state use tax.
@DesiraeBae 12mos12MO
No. A physical store only pays sales tax to their physical location and pays to that location. They are part of that ONE community. An online store cannot be expected to keep track of every customers location, file separate permits, collect sales tax, and remit payment for every location where a person might make a purchase. Perhaps a different type of sales tax would be more appropriate - like a national sales tax, that only applies to businesses doing sales online across many states.
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