WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear arguments in South Dakota v. Wayfair, a case about whether states can require out-of-state online retailers to collect their sales taxes.
The National Sporting Goods Association and the National Retail Federation — along with the attorneys general from 35 states and the District of Columbia — had supported South Dakota's efforts to overturn a key ruling that exempts online retailers from collecting state sales taxes.
The trade groups and AGs filed Friends of the Court briefs last year asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear South Dakota's case.
“This is an encouraging step toward fairness in how sales taxes are collected by all retailers, whether or not they have a physical store,” NSGA president and CEO Matt Carlson said in a statement Friday. “That said, there is still an opportunity for a legislative solution.”
The NSGA supports H.R. 2193, the Remote Transactions Parity Act and S. 976, the Marketplace Fairness Act, which the trade group said would level the playing field by permitting all states that have a sales tax to require out-of-state internet sellers to collect state sales tax.
The NRF also supports the Remote Transactions Parity Act. On Friday, the federation's president and CEO, Matthew Shay, said, “Retail is a dynamic industry that’s rapidly transforming. Unfortunately, antiquated sales tax collection rules have resulted in an uneven playing field that’s making it harder for Main Street retailers to compete in today’s digital economy. This is a basic question about fairness, which all of our members deserve whether they’re selling in stores or online.”
