Tod Cohen, Vice President of Government Relations and Deputy General Counsel at eBay published a letter to the editor in the Kansas City Star in response to their article, When tax-free is hardly free: States, shops pay the price.
Below is Tod\'s letter:
Internet tax wrong
The Star\'s June 13 editorial "When tax-free is hardly free: States, shops pay the price" fails to recognize how implementing the streamlined sales tax regime would severely harm the smallest online retailers, thousands of whom are based in Missouri.
The proposal would require online retailers to collect and remit sales taxes to thousands of state and local tax jurisdictions, creating complex and costly compliance burdens on the smallest retail businesses - which may have a part-time accountant or tax adviser. Treating small businesses the same as a multibillion-dollar retail giant with thousands of employees and entire tax departments is a move that will kill jobs and hurt the economy.
Missouri and other states facing budget shortages should seek alternate solutions to their fiscal difficulties - solutions that do not place costly and complex administrative burdens on the smallest online retailers during tough economic times.