Senate Passes Internet Sales Tax Bill, Now Faces House Vote - East Idaho News
Business & Money

Senate Passes Internet Sales Tax Bill, Now Faces House Vote

  Published at

GETTY B 101111 CreditCardComputer?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1367884826870iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Online shoppers, your shopping cart just took one more step toward potentially becoming a bit more expensive. After a Senate vote Monday, tax-free online shopping might be over soon.
 
The Senate Monday evening passed the Internet sales tax bill by a vote of 69-27.
 
The bill, formally called The Marketplace Fairness Act, would give state governments the authority to collect taxes from Internet sales.
 
Under current law, online stores are only required to collect tax in states where they have a physical presence.
 
Proponents say the act levels the playing field, taking away the competitive advantage that online retailers who opt not to charge sales taxes have over stores where customers shop in person.
 
Opponents say the act would hurt small businesses that rely on the Internet for revenue but don’t have the resources to keep track of sales taxes, as is required by the bill, in every jurisdiction in the United States.
 
The law only applies to online sellers that have sales of at least $1 million in states where they don’t have a physical store.
 
The bill faces its largest hurdle in the Republican-led House of Representatives where it must pass before coming law.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

SUBMIT A CORRECTION