Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have shown interest in the idea. But any plan along these lines is sure to draw skepticism from states and localities worried about ceding their power over tax policy.
The federal government’s main watchdog agency is urging Congress to create nationwide standards for taxing the sale of goods, saying a U.S. Supreme Court ruling has led to a “complex patchwork” of state and local regulations that are burdensome and unfair to some businesses.
There’s at least some support for the idea in Congress.
Senate Finance chairman Ron Wyden, who has proposed national standards along these lines, argues that trying to follow regulations that vary from state to state, and even city to city, is difficult, particularly for small businesses selling products online around the country. Notably, Wyden’s home state of Oregon doesn’t impose a general sales for online or brick-and-mortar transactions.
Route Fifty
By Kery Murakami
NOVEMBER 22, 2022