2000 - 05-01-00 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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0 E vnx, 18 FPS 57 008 RESOLUTION ON DELAYING CONGRESSIONAL ACTION ON INTERNET TAX MORATORIUM WHEREAS, out-of-state remote sellers who conduct sales via the Internet, mail order, and phones are not required by law to collect existing sales and use taxes imposed by state and local governments; and WHEREAS, the primary barrier to collecting taxes on remote sales is the Supreme Court's ruling in Quill V. North Dakota which defers to Congress to authorize states to require remote sellers to collect taxes in a manner that does not unduly burden Interstate commerce; and WHEREAS, state and local governments are working together to implement a streamlined sales tax system that would simplify definitions, tax rates and tax bases and use 21 ` Century technology in the collection process; and WHEREAS, current laws create a competitive disadvantage and great inequities between merchants who sell from traditional "brick-and-mortar" establishments and those who sell from electronic stores; and WHEREAS, increasing sales on the Internet, and the resulting erosion of sales and use tax revenues, will limit the ability of states and governments and school districts to finance essential public services such as police, fire, emergency medical service, education, social services, infrastructure development, and healthcare; and WHEREAS, a recent University of Tennessee study estimates that state sales tax revenue losses in 2003 will exceed $10 billion; and WHEREAS, the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce failed to reach a legally required consensus on fair and equitable treatment of both remote sellers and "Main Street" retailers and also proposed that Congress preempt state and local sovereignty guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Lee County Board of Commissioners supports simplification of state and local sales taxes, and urges states to move expeditiously to develop and approve model simplification legislation; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Congress should not extend or expand the current moratorium until its expiration in October 2001; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if state and local governments choose to negotiate a brief extension of the existing moratorium as part of a broader bill, such an extension: Should only be effective for a short period of time (no more than two years); and Must be linked to states' successfully implementing sales tax simplification, which would trigger Congressional authorization of pa d duty to collect use taxes on remote sales. _ n Herbert A. Hincks, Chairman Adopted May 1, 2000.