This is the first holiday season since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to tax online shopping.
Retail experts are anticipating that the Thanksgiving shopping weekend will once again be record-breaking, particularly for online sales. Last year, the Monday after Thanksgiving — nicknamed Cyber Monday — saw a record $6.6 billion in sales, up 16.8 percent from the previous year.
But if states are hoping for a revenue windfall in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling this year that allowed them to collect online sales taxes — not so fast. “Ultimately, I think there will be a nice little bump to states,” says Brian Kirkell, a principal at the tax consulting firm RSM, “but it’s not going to change much.”
That’s because there are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to how much the ruling will affect revenues.
GOVERNING.COM
BY LIZ FARMER | NOVEMBER 21, 2018