STORES Magazine - July 2015 - 10


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RETAIL POLITICS

Lawmakers Try Again
on Internet Sales Tax
Two years after legislation intended to level the sales tax collection playing field
between online merchants and local stores passed the Senate only to die in the House,
supporters have introduced a new version they hope can make it to
President Obama's desk for his signature.
The Remote Transactions Parity Act, sponsored by House
Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman
Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), is intended to address critics' concerns that the Marketplace Fairness Act passed by the Senate would place too great a burden on small online sellers.
The Senate bill would exempt sellers with less than $1 million in annual out-of-state sales. But the Chaffetz bill would
exempt those with less than $10 million in its first year, $5
million in the second year and then the Senate's $1 million
level in the third year. Both bills would provide sellers with
certified software to automate sales tax collection, but the
Chaffetz bill would exempt those with less than $5 million
in out-of-state sales from audits by out-of-state tax officials
for as long as they use the software.
Online sellers are already required to collect sales tax in
the states where they are based. But under a 1992 Supreme

Court ruling they can only be required to collect sales tax
elsewhere if they have a physical presence such as a store,
office or warehouse. Both the House and Senate versions of
the bill would allow states to require collection regardless of
physical presence.
The measure needs approval from the House Judiciary
Committee, where Chairman Robert Goodlatte (R-Va.) held
a hearing last year and released principles to be included
in sales tax legislation. He is expected to introduce his own
version sometime this year.
NRF says the Chaffetz bill "adds significant simplification
to the sales tax collection process." NRF has pushed for
legislation for more than a dozen years because the lack of
tax on most Internet sales has left Main Street merchants at
a significant price disadvantage that has forced some to lay
off workers or close their doors.

EPA Action Could Raise Food Prices
for Retailers, Restaurants
NRF's National Council of
Chain Restaurants says the
Environmental Protection
Agency is putting corn growers
ahead of consumers by proposing to increase the amount of
corn-based ethanol used in the
nation's gasoline supply.
"The agency continues to
bow to political pressure from
special interests and ignore the
unrelenting pressure the corn
ethanol mandate has caused
on food commodity prices,"
NCCR Executive Director Rob
Green says. "Consumers,
restaurants and everyone
who eats or sells food can no
longer continue to pay the
price for the administration's
ambivalence and Congress'
inaction."

10

STORES July 2015

The EPA wants to increase the
amount of ethanol required
under the federal Renewable
Fuel Standard to 16.3 billion
gallons this year and 17.4
billion gallons next year, up
from 15.9 billion gallons used
in 2014. That's counter to the
agency's previous proposal to
reduce the mandate because of
falling gasoline demand due to
economic factors and improved
fuel efficiency.
The EPA will accept comments
on the proposal until July 27,
and plans to set final ethanol
levels by the end of November.
Green called on Congress to
pass pending legislation that
would repeal the mandate,
characterizing it as "failed
public policy that desperately

needs to be addressed."
The mandate for oil
companies to blend ethanol
into gasoline was passed by
Congress in 2007 in an attempt
to reduce dependence on
foreign oil. But NCCR and
other opponents say the
increased demand for corn has
caused prices to skyrocket, not
just for corn itself but for all
food products derived from it,
even beef, pork, poultry and
dairy from animals fed with
corn. That means higher costs
for NCCR member restaurants
when they buy ingredients for
the meals they serve, higher
wholesale prices for retailers
who sell food - and more
expensive meals and grocery
bills for consumers.

NRF.COM/STORES
http://www.NRF.COM/STORES
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - July 2015
