Sen. Carper Statement on Senate Passage of Marketplace Fairness Act

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), a cosponsor of the legislation, released the following statement when the Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would allow states that have a sales tax to collect sales tax revenue from large online retailers in addition to brick-and-mortar stores:

“Today, the Senate passed bipartisan legislation that helps states and localities collect legally-owed sales and use tax revenue. There are no new taxes in this bill. More importantly, this legislation does not infringe on one of the key drivers of Delaware’s economy: tax-free shopping. Simply put, this bill addresses an issue of basic fairness. Every business and individual has an obligation to pay the taxes that they legally owe. While ‘brick-and-mortar’ businesses across the country are collecting and remitting sales taxes to the states and localities that impose them, online businesses aren’t always doing the same. If an online business doesn’t collect sales tax, then the burden falls to the consumer – many of whom are unaware that any tax is even owed. The Marketplace Fairness Act corrects this problem by requiring states to simplify their sales tax laws and by requiring online companies with out-of-state sales over $1 million to collect and remit these taxes to the proper tax authorities. The bill exempts small online businesses and requires states to provide tax collection software to businesses free of charge. The bill’s bipartisan champions – Mike Enzi and Dick Durbin – deserve credit for putting together a fair compromise. My hope is that it may provide us some inspiration for tackling an overhaul of our tax code that lowers tax rates for families and businesses while steering our nation on a more fiscally sustainable course.”