(Filed Under Financial and General Interest News). The United States Congress is considering legislation regarding taxing online sales.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) recently introduced a bill that would make it mandatory for 24 states to require that online retailers collect tax on all sales. Known as The Main Street Fairness Act, the legislation aims to level the playing field between e-tailers and brick-and-mortar stores, who argue that they are at a disadvantage when customers choose sales tax-free web shopping.

The bill would authorize states that adopted the Streamlined Sales & Use Tax Agreement of 1999 to require that sellers collect sales tax whether or not they have a physical presence in the state. In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that retailers are only required to collect sales tax from customers if they have currently in the state’s borders.

The Main Street Fairness Act would not only apply to online retailers, but also to catalog companies. Both Amazon.com and Sears Holdings Corp. have spoken out in support of the legislation.

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Published 08-04-2011 by Katherine Rautenberg