Bill Text: FL S0254 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Main Street Fairness Act [WPSC]
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Finance and Tax [S0254 Detail]
Download: Florida-2010-S0254-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2010 SM 254 By Senator Ring 32-00309C-10 2010254__ 1 Senate Memorial 2 A memorial to the members of the Florida congressional 3 delegation, urging them to co-sponsor the Main Street 4 Fairness Act and to support its adoption by the 5 Congress of the United States. 6 7 WHEREAS, in National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of 8 Revenue of Illinois, 386 U.S. 753 (1967) and Quill v. North 9 Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992), the Supreme Court of the United 10 States held that the Commerce Clause of the United States 11 Constitution limits the authority of states to require remote 12 sellers to collect sales and use taxes from their customers, and 13 WHEREAS, the combined weight of the inability to collect 14 sales and use taxes on remote sales through traditional carriers 15 and the tax erosion due to electronic commerce threatens the 16 future viability of the sales tax as a stable revenue source for 17 state and local governments, and 18 WHEREAS, the Center for Business and Economic Research at 19 the University of Tennessee estimates that states will lose as 20 much as $23 billion in 2012 if they are not able to collect 21 taxes on remote sales, including sales over the Internet, and 22 WHEREAS, the University of Tennessee study also estimates 23 that Florida will lose $1.4 billion in 2012 because of the 24 inability to require remote sellers to collect our state’s sales 25 and use taxes, and 26 WHEREAS, since 1999, state legislators, governors, local 27 elected officials, state tax administrators, and representatives 28 of the private sector have worked to develop a Streamlined Sales 29 and Use Tax Collection System for the 21st Century, and 30 WHEREAS, on November 12, 2002, state delegates unanimously 31 ratified the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement to 32 substantially simplify state and local sales tax systems, remove 33 the burdens to interstate commerce which were of concern to the 34 Supreme Court, and protect state sovereignty, and 35 WHEREAS, the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement 36 provides the states with a blueprint to create a simplified and 37 more uniform sales and use tax collection system and is 38 justification for Congress to permit states that are parties to 39 the agreement to collect sales and use taxes from remote 40 sellers, and 41 WHEREAS, as of October 1, 2009, 23 states, Arkansas, 42 Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, 43 Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, 44 Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, 45 Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, representing 46 more than 35 percent of the total population of the United 47 States, enacted legislation to bring their state’s sales and use 48 tax statutes into compliance with the agreement, and 49 WHEREAS, the Main Street Fairness Act will be introduced in 50 111th Congress to grant those states that comply with the 51 agreement the authority to require all sellers, regardless of 52 nexus, to collect those states’ sales and use taxes, and 53 WHEREAS, the following unions, organizations, and 54 businesses support the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement 55 and the federal legislation granting states collection 56 authority: the Alabama Retail Association; American Booksellers 57 Association; Arizona Retailers Association; Arkansas Grocers and 58 Retail Merchants Association; Associated Industries of Florida; 59 Best Buy, Inc.; California Retailers Association; Colorado 60 Retail Council; Connecticut Retail Merchants Association; the 61 Council on State Governments; Council of State Retail 62 Associations; the Council on State Taxation; Cracker Barrel Old 63 Country Store, Inc.; CTIA-The Wireless Association; Federation 64 of Tax Administrators; First Washington Realty, Inc.; Florida 65 Chamber of Commerce; Florida Tax Watch; Florida Retail 66 Federation; General Growth Properties, Inc.; Georgia Retail 67 Association; Retail Merchants Association of Hawaii; Home Depot; 68 Idaho Retailers Association; Illinois Retail Merchants 69 Association; Independent Music Retailers Association; Indiana 70 Retail Council; International Council of Shopping Centers; 71 International Union of Police; Iowa Retail Federation; J.C. 72 Penney Corporation, Inc.; Jack in the Box, Inc.; Jewelers of 73 America; Kansas Retail Council; Kentucky Retail Association; 74 Kimco Realty Corporation; K-Mart Corporation; Land’s End; 75 Louisiana Retailers Association; Maine Merchants Association; 76 Maryland Retailers Association; Retailers’ Association of 77 Massachusetts; Michigan Retailers Association; Minnesota 78 Retailers Association; Retail Association of Mississippi; 79 Missouri Retailers Association; National Association of Chain 80 Drug Stores; National Association of College Stores; National 81 Association of Industrial and Office Properties; National 82 Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts; National Bicycle 83 Dealers Association; National Conference of State Legislatures; 84 National Education Association; National Governors Association; 85 National Office Products Association; National Retail 86 Federation; Nebraska Retail Federation; Retail Federation of 87 Nevada; New England Independent Booksellers Association; New 88 Jersey Retail Merchants Association; New Mexico Retail 89 Association; Retail Council of New York State, Inc.; Newspaper 90 Association of America; North American Retail Dealers 91 Association; North Carolina Retail Merchants Association; North 92 Dakota Retail Association; Northern California Independent 93 Booksellers; Ohio Council of Retail Merchants; Oklahoma Retail 94 Council; Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association; Pennsylvania 95 Retailers’ Association; Performance Automotive Retailers; 96 Performance Warehouse Association; PETsMART, Inc.; RadioShack 97 Corporation; Real Estate Roundtable; Retail Industry Leaders 98 Association; Rhode Island Retail Federation; Ross Stores, Inc.; 99 Sears Holdings Corporation; Simon Property Group, Inc.; South 100 Carolina Retail Association; South Dakota Retailers Association; 101 Staples, Inc.; Target; Tennessee Retail Association; Gap Inc.; 102 the Macerich Company; the TJX Companies, Inc; US Telecom; Utah 103 Retail Merchants Association; Vermont Retail Association; 104 Virginia Retail Merchants Association; Wal-Mart; Washington 105 Retail Association; Weingarten Realty Investors; West Acres 106 Development, LLP; Westfield; Wisconsin Merchants Federation; and 107 Wyoming Retail Merchants Association, and 108 WHEREAS, until Congress enacts the Main Street Fairness 109 Act, participation by remote sellers under the Streamlined Sales 110 and Use Tax Agreement is voluntary only, and thus, without 111 congressional action, states are unlikely to close the revenue 112 gap between what is owed on remote transactions and what is 113 collected, and 114 WHEREAS, Congressman Roy Blunt of Missouri has termed this 115 federal legislation as “fiscal relief for the states that does 116 not cost the Federal Government a single cent,” and this 117 legislation ensures the viability of the sales and use tax as a 118 state revenue source, NOW, THEREFORE, 119 120 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 121 122 That the Legislature of the State of Florida: 123 (1) Calls upon the members of the Florida Congressional 124 delegation to join as co-sponsors of the Main Street Fairness 125 Act and support its swift adoption by the Congress of the United 126 States. 127 (2) Urges President Barak Obama to sign the Main Street 128 Fairness Act into law upon its passage by Congress. 129 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be 130 dispatched to the President of the United States, to the 131 President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the 132 United States House of Representatives, and to each member of 133 the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.
