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Trump Administration is Mistaken on Online Sales Tax

Washington D.C. – Yesterday, NetChoice ­­­­responded to an amicus brief from Trump’s Administration backing a reversal of Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992), an important US Supreme Court precedent protecting out-of-state retailers from being forced to collect in-state sales tax.

“In their brief, the Trump administration feeds into an anti-tech narrative by asking the court to tax online retailers while exempting catalog mail-order businesses. They justify this anti-tech position by saying that any American who puts up a website is creating an electronic presence in all states.”

“Overturning Quill would unleash tax collectors from 46 states and 12,000 local jurisdictions to demand audits and taxes from any small business-owner in the country who dares to use the internet to sell their products or services,” continued DelBianco.

“It’s truly troubling that the administration wants the Supreme Court to support South Dakota’s attempt to reach across its borders to tax any business anywhere in the country.

Polling has shown that Americans oppose mandating tax collection by all online sellers, including almost 75% of young people, and studies as recently as September 2017 show this sentiment isn’t moving.