Tri-City Herald – Supreme Court online sales tax ruling pleases politicians. Consumers? Maybe not.
Also appeared in The News Tribune, The Bellingham Herald, The Olympian
NetChoice, a trade association focusing on electronic commerce, all but guaranteed it would challenge Washington’s law in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and hamstring the state’s ability to collect the taxes it promised in its budget.
That lawsuit has yet to materialize. Steve DelBianco, the group’s executive director, said it still could sue Washington state based on some of its unique requirements for sales-tax collection aimed at middlemen platforms such as eBay.
DelBianco said his group is unlikely to challenge the state’s efforts to force out-of-state retailers to collect internet sales taxes in light of the court ruling.