By Staff 1.15.18
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., praised the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today to consider a case challenging a previous ruling which barred states from collecting sales and use tax from remote sellers, such as out-of-state businesses and online retailers.
In 1992, the Supreme Court ruled in Quill Corp v. North Dakota that a business must have a physical presence in a state before it can be required to collect and remit state sales and use taxes. Last November, Enzi submitted an amicus brief with other members of Congress urging the Supreme Court to review its earlier decision, noting the lost revenue to states and disadvantage it puts many small businesses at.
“I applaud the Supreme Court for its choice to review its 25-year-old decision which has put brick-and-mortar retailers at an unfair disadvantage compared to online and out-of-state competitors who don’t have to collect sale and use taxes,” Enzi said. “Since that time, we have also seen state and local governments deprived of tens of billions of dollars over the years. I hope Congress will take this opportunity to act on a bipartisan, bicameral basis to remedy the situation for states and towns and level the playing field for local businesses.”
Last year, Enzi introduced bipartisan legislation with U.S. Senators Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., that would give states the right to require out-of-state businesses or online retailers to collect and remit the sales and use taxes that are already owed under current law.