Last week, Jessica Melugin with the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), published an op-ed in the Missoulian that called on Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) to protect Montana businesses from a federal proposal that would allow tax enforcement agents from other states to impose their sales tax laws on online retailers based in Montana.  

As a non-sales tax state, Montana is particularly vulnerable to out of state tax agents imposing their states’ sales tax requirements on Montana businesses.  However, as Jessica points out in her article, “As chairman of the powerful Finance Committee and senior senator from a non-sales tax state, Montana’s Max Baucus is uniquely positioned to protect both American consumers and his home state’s businesses from out-of-state politicians imposing new, onerous sales taxes – in other words, to preserve the principle of “no taxation without representation”.”

eBay, along with CEI and other free market organizations, have strongly opposed federal legislation that would abandon current law and essentially create a new tax regime where tax collectors no longer have borders.  We at eBay believe that small online retailers should be encouraged to grow their business and create new jobs, not become the tax collector for every state in nation.

To learn more about this issue and to read Jessica’s article in the Missoulian, please click here.