Small Businesses Call for Federal Legislation on Online Sales Tax

SEATTLE, July 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- FedTax® announced today that it joins its TaxCloud® merchants in urging Congress to enact the Main Street Fairness Act (MSFA). The MSFA will authorize states that have simplified their sales tax systems to require online retailers to collect sales tax. Simplification and standardization of sales tax laws will benefit all retailers, and the MSFA will encourage states to follow-through with such simplification.

As states like California and Illinois enact affiliate nexus legislation (so-called Amazon tax laws) to attempt to collect sales tax due on online purchases, small businesses across the country are being caught in the crossfire. Affiliate marketers are forced to either find entirely new sources of revenue or flee to another state. Meanwhile, online retailers that rely on affiliate marketing are forced to either eliminate their established sales and marketing teams or come into compliance with the new laws.

The better solution is the anticipated Main Street Fairness Act, which incorporates the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA). SSUTA streamlines and simplifies state sales tax regulations, making it easy for retailers to collect sales tax for multiple states. SSUTA has been a cooperative effort of 44 states (including California and Illinois), businesses, political leaders, and industry associations. States that adopt SSUTA have committed to make sales tax collection easier for all retailers, online and offline, large and small.

"The Main Street Fairness Act will protect small businesses across the country from the varied state-by-state efforts which are ineffective, and are hurting small businesses. Only Congress has the authority to regulate interstate commerce," said David Campbell, CEO of FedTax. "Our free TaxCloud service is an easy-to-use system now being relied upon by more than 750 small businesses to manage their local sales tax obligations, and fully comply with SSUTA as well as the anticipated federal legislation."

Sten Wilson, a TaxCloud merchant and owner of Point of View Farm, a small sheep farm in upstate New York, said, "There's a misconception that the Main Street Fairness Act is bad for small businesses, when it's absolutely not. I can say from my own experience that without this service, managing sales tax compliance in multiple states used to be very complicated -- I'm all for legislation that gives states a reason to make collecting sales tax easier."

The Main Street Fairness Act would ultimately benefit everyone: large and small businesses alike, both local and online, would find it easier to collect and remit sales tax; affiliate marketers would no longer be threatened by state legislation and retailers that use affiliate marketing would be able to continue doing so; and states would benefit from much needed revenue to fund vital services, without having to resort to controversial affiliate nexus laws.

About FedTax

FedTax makes it easy for businesses to calculate, collect, and remit sales tax. It was founded by e-commerce veterans with extensive experience in large-scale internet services. The management team has been directly involved in building some of the most recognizable brands on the internet, including Google, American Express, Microsoft, and Expedia.

FedTax has been designated a Certified Service Provider by the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board. The company's free TaxCloud service enables businesses to calculate and remit sales tax across the country. TaxCloud can be easily integrated into most accounting, order management, and e-commerce shopping cart systems.    

FedTax is headquartered in Seattle and has offices in Connecticut and Kansas. 

SOURCE FedTax