Today Senator Durbin announced plans to reintroduce the Marketplace Fairness Act, a bill that would give states the ability to collect sales taxes from out of state businesses. The bill had been introduced during the last Congress. The following statement should be attributed to Steve Pociask, president of the American Consumer Institute:
“The growth of broadband adoption and e-commerce makes online sales a tempting target for policymakers. However, any action taken by Congress in this space must follow two principles: It must continue to foster the growth of access to broadband services while also providing clarity for consumers.
“Congress should instead move to reintroduce the Wireless Tax Fairness Act, which would put a stop to discriminatory taxes on wireless services and also extend the Internet Tax Moratorium. Together, these measures would prevent states and localities from burdening consumers with excessive taxes and fees giving more individuals the opportunity to get online.
“Congress should also reintroduce and pass the Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act. This measure would create a federal framework for how digital goods and services are taxed, clarifying the rules of the road and saving consumers from duplicative taxes on their digital downloads.
“All three of these initiatives have broad, bipartisan support in both chambers. Congress needs to focus on these pro-consumer measures.”