The battle over whether online retailers should have to pay sales tax gained a new voice this week as “We R Here,” a coalition of nearly one thousand retailers, has formally launched.
“We R Here,” is an acronym standing for “Web Enabled Retailers Helping Expand Retail Employment,” and the group lobbies against the multiple bills in congress that would make eCommerce site pay sales tax.
According to Phil Bond, We R Here’s executive director, the coalition’s message is simple.
“We believe that small business retailers from cities and towns across the country, who are using the Internet to grow their business, should tell their story so that people know who they are and how they are contributing growth, jobs and innovation to the economy,” Bonds told Internet Retailer.
He characterizes the proposed sales tax laws as both harmful and unfair to eCommerce sites, as such sites receive no government services from the states to which they’d pay taxes.
But proponents of the sales tax laws – most notably large retail chains and Amazon.com – claim that a lack of tax creates an unfair advantage for online sites. They also believe an eCommerce sales tax would allow for the recovery of an estimated $23 billion lost in tax revenue last year.
There are currently 45 states that have a state sales tax, as does the District of Columbia.
So what do you think – would an eCommerce site sales tax level the playing field, or would it be a death sentence for many small vendors around the country? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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