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SJM110.....................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
STREAMLINED SALES TAX AGREEMENT - Stating findings of the Legislature and
urging the Congress of the United States to authorize those states which
have become members of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, by
conforming their sales and use tax laws to the requirements of the
agreement, to require sales and use tax collection responsibility on the
part of remote sellers who have no physical presence in the state.
03/15 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
03/16 Rpt prt - to St Aff
03/24 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 10th Ord
03/25 10th Ord - ADOPTED - voice vote
Floor Sponsor - Bunderson
Title apvd - to House
03/28 House intro - 1st rdg - to Rev/Tax
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2005
IN THE SENATE
SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 110
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 A JOINT MEMORIAL
2 TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS
3 ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF
4 IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
5 We, your Memorialists, the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
6 State of Idaho assembled in the First Regular Session of the Fifty-eighth
7 Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:
8 WHEREAS, Idaho is among the forty-five states and the District of Columbia
9 to impose a sales and use tax; and
10 WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in its decisions in National
11 Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of Illinois, 386 U.S. 753 (1967)
12 and Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992) denies to states the
13 authority to require collection of sales and use taxes by out-of-state remote
14 sellers (e.g. Internet and catalog sellers) who have no physical presence in
15 the state due to the "undue burden" that results from the complexities associ-
16 ated with differing state and local sales tax laws; and
17 WHEREAS, the inability of states like Idaho to require certain direct
18 marketers and other businesses selling to their residents to collect sales and
19 use tax places many community businesses that support state and local govern-
20 ment and local community activities at a substantial competitive disadvantage;
21 and
22 WHEREAS, restrictions on collections of such taxes result in a loss of
23 revenue equaling billions of dollars to the states and millions of dollars to
24 the state of Idaho; and
25 WHEREAS, there is a clear need for simplification of state and local sales
26 tax administration and greater uniformity among states in the administration
27 of sales and use tax to avoid imposing an undue burden on interstate commerce;
28 and
29 WHEREAS, more than forty states are now involved in the Streamlined Sales
30 Tax Project that has as its goal the development of a radically simplified
31 sales tax administration system that will reduce the compliance burden for all
32 types of retailers; and
33 WHEREAS, more than forty states have joined together to adopt the
34 Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement which provides for member states to
35 make substantive simplifications to their sales and use tax systems to remove
36 or substantially reduce the burdens on interstate commerce addressed in the
37 Quill and National Bellas Hess cases; and
38 WHEREAS, one of the goals of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project is to
39 encourage the registration and collection of sales and use taxes by remote
40 sellers who are not now collecting such taxes on otherwise taxable sales to
41 customers located in states where the remote sellers do not have physical
42 presence sufficient to subject them to the states' jurisdiction to require
43 such collection; and
44 WHEREAS, the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement provides that when
2
1 ten states representing twenty percent of the population of all states impos-
2 ing sales and use taxes have enacted the required simplification provisions
3 addressed in the agreement and been admitted to membership in the agreement,
4 the agreement shall take effect.
5 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the First Regular Session
6 of the Fifty-eighth Idaho Legislature, the Senate and the House of Representa-
7 tives concurring therein, that we respectfully urge the Congress of the United
8 States to authorize those states which have become members of the
9 Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, by conforming their sales and use tax
10 laws to the requirements of the agreement, to require sales and use tax col-
11 lection responsibility on the part of remote sellers who have no physical
12 presence in the state.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate be, and she is
14 hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this Memorial to the Pres-
15 ident of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Con-
16 gress, and the congressional delegation representing the State of Idaho in the
17 Congress of the United States.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 15080
Out of state retail businesses who do not have a presence in Idaho and sell
over the internet and catalogues (remote sellers) are not required to collect
sales taxes on sales into sales taxing states (there are 46 states and the
District of Columbia that have a state sales tax). Some remote sellers even
advertise that their customers can avoid paying sales tax.
This failure to collect sales tax gives these remote sellers significant
unfair competitive advantage over Idaho retail businesses as well as adversely
affects Idaho's sales tax revenues.
Most sales taxing states are working to solve this problem by streamlining
their state and local-option sales tax systems so that they will have only one
tax rate insofar as remote sellers are concerned. When at least ten states
comprising at least twenty percent of the total population, as determined by
the 2000 Federal census, of all states imposing a state sales tax have
petitioned for membership and have been found to be in compliance with the
requirements of the agreement, this memorial requests the U.S. Congress to
pass legislation authorizing signatory states to require remote sellers to
collect sales taxes on sales made into their respective states.
FISCAL NOTE
None.
Contact
Name: Pam Eaton, Idaho Retailers Association
Phone: 342-0010
Name: Senators Hal Bunderson, John Andreason
Phone: 332-1319, 332-1333
Name: Representatives Bill Deal, Maxine Bell
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE SJM 110