(Alexandria, VA) – The 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU) the nation's oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, today reasserted its vehement opposition to new predatory taxes on Internet purchases in the wake of a legislative push to implement the "Streamlined Sales Tax Project" (SSTP) in the House of Representatives. This ill-advised scheme, which NTU warned against in a paper called "Ten Tax-Hike Threats in the 111th Congress," would irrevocably open the floodgate protecting consumers from a rush of oppressive taxation, a barrier that taxpayer advocates have fought to fortify for years.
Representative William Delahunt (D-MA) recently introduced H.R. 5660, the cynically titled "Main Street Fairness Act," to impose SSTP, thereby allowing states to impose sales taxes on transactions made by residents beyond their borders. Supporters claim that this arrangement will "level the playing field" between traditional brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers. States need Congress's blessing for SSTP because of previous court rulings that governments cannot force firms within their jurisdiction to collect taxes on sales made to out-of-state customers.
"In this economy, the last thing overburdened consumers need is for the Tax Man to reach his hands even further into yet another vital area of our economy: the Internet," said NTU Director of Government Affairs Andrew Moylan. "Passage of SSTP legislation could result in billions of dollars worth of tax hikes on citizens in order to pay for the reckless spending of their legislatures."
Through legislative hearings, public education campaigns, and grassroots mobilization, NTU has long opposed these kinds of taxes because they harm consumers and are not supported by the principles of sound taxation. Sales taxes are charged, in part, to provide for important infrastructure investments like roads and police protection. Brick-and-mortar stores place a burden on and benefit directly from those investments, while online retailers do not.
"Simply stated, SSTP is a money grab," Moylan concluded. "Instead of seeking new avenues into taxpayers' wallets, legislators on the federal and state level should chart a path toward fiscal responsibility. Taxing Internet purchases beyond what's allowed already would be an unwise and unwarranted deviation from that path."
NTU is a nonpartisan, nonprofit citizen organization founded in 1969 to work for lower taxes, smaller government, and economic freedom at all levels. Note: For more information on NTU, visit www.ntu.org or send a text message to 67292.
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