TL;DR
The Supreme Court has ruled that states can require online businesses to collect sales tax even if they don't have a physical presence in the state. This ruling will impact online retailers like Amazon and eBay, and is expected to generate $9 billion to $13 billion in tax revenue for local governments.
In a Supreme Court ruling announced today, states can make online businesses collect sales tax even if they do not have a presence in that state. According to TechCrunch, the ruling overturns a 1992 decision that said a company must have a physical presence in the state in order to be required to pay taxes.
Brick and mortar stores are thrilled with the ruling because online retailers like Amazon and eBay will now be required to pay local sales tax. Local governments will see an estimated $9 billion to $13 billion tax revenue.
Some questions still remain. The court did not rule out states retroactively seeking sales tax or states opting not to collect tax on all online purchases. New online companies may be the most impacted by this ruling, adding a new barrier to scaling their business.
In this story
This story was originally published in 1851 Franchise on June 21, 2018. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.
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