UnionLeader.com
November 1, 2010
By: John Donahoe

Additionally, small retailers face a growing political challenge: a tax-policy lobbying battle over the appropriate role of sales tax collection on Internet retail. Many state governments face revenue problems. Some people claim that new sales tax collection on Internet retail is the answer. Given that less than 5 percent of retail sales today are online, that’s obviously not true. Nevertheless, there is a big push to expand online sales taxes, and small business retailers are in the crosshairs.

A coalition of 23 states and giant retailers are actively lobbying across America to impose sales tax burdens on small Internet retailers as if they were the same as giant businesses. It is unfair and frankly a mistake to treat a small business like a retail giant with stores in every state and armies of bookkeepers and tax lawyers. As a sales-tax-free state, New Hampshire is uniquely positioned in this debate and has the most to lose.

Small retailers in the state are not currently burdened by the complexities of the sales tax system. To change federal law and force small businesses to start collecting taxes for thousands of jurisdictions nationwide will be a job-killer that puts New Hampshire’s online businesses at a distinct disadvantage.

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