Today, NetChoice member Overstock penned an op-ed in Roll Call laying out the fundamental flaws with the Senate’s Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA). In his Roll Call post, Overstock Chairman Jonathan Johnson reiterated his call that any federal bill must include a complete preemption of state law — the federal solution is the only way to allow state tax collectors to reach beyond their borders. Of course the Senate’s bill does nothing to preempt states.
But lack of state preemption isn’t the only problem Johnson cited with MFA.
The post cited the disproportionate financial burdens placed on remote sellers and calls out the false claims of “free” software to calculate taxes.
According to Johnson, many of MFAs problems could have been addressed had the bill moved through regular order. But instead, the Senate used parliamentary games to rush this bad bill to a vote.
Finally, Johnson says that the Senate should not anchor renewal of the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) by attaching the flawed MFA.
As opposed to MFA, NetChoice backs the Home Rule and Revenue Return option addresses the concerns Johnson raises. And Home Rule complies with all the House Judiciary Committee principles.
Thank you Jonathan Johnson and Overstock for taking a stand against the Senate’s flawed internet tax. We second your concerns and continue working to achieve an approach that doesn’t have the problems of MFA.