BNA Bloomberg – Georgia Enacts Online Sales Tax Law Ahead of Supreme Court Action
“I think Georgia can fully expect a lawsuit before the law takes effect in January,” particularly if the Supreme Court upholds the physical presence rule and finds South Dakota’s law unconstitutional, said Steve DelBianco, president and CEO of NetChoice, an industry association for e-commerce.
NetChoice has sued Indiana, Tennessee, and Wyoming over similar sales tax collection laws.
Georgia also could face a legal challenge on the reporting requirements, DelBianco told Bloomberg Tax May 7, in addition to public opposition when residents of the state become aware of the privacy concerns of their online purchases being reported to the state.
The reporting requirements in Georgia’s law are modeled after a Colorado law that faced six years of court challenges before the Supreme Court declined to review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit’s decision to uphold Colorado’s law. No other federal circuit has ruled on such a reporting law, DelBianco said.
“Georgia is not in the Tenth Circuit. You can bet that it’s a ripe target,” he said.