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Proposed/Existing Legislation by State
Below is an overview of states considering eTaxes. CLICK HERE to write your state lawmakers and urge them to oppose taxes on the internet and online purchases!

Proposed Legislation for 2010

California: Assembly Bill 2078 is included in the Democrats' 2010 budget proposal and would impose an "affiliate nexus tax" on all purchases made online from out-of-state retailers. 

Connecticut: House Bill 8154 would enact an "affiliate nexus tax" on all purchases made online.

Florida: Senate Bill 204 would have established Streamlined Sales Tax in Florida, with the goal of extending the sales tax to out-of-state online purchases. The bill died in Committee on Finance and Tax on Friday, April 30, 2010.

Illinois: Senate Bill 3353 would impose an "affiliate nexus tax" on all internet purchases.

Indiana: House Bill 250 would apply the sales tax to sales of digital goods and also conforms the state's tax code to the Streamlined Sales Tax.

Maryland: Senate Bill 824 would apply the sales tax to all products purchased online from out-of-state retailers.

Mississippi: Senate Bill 2927 would have enacted an "affiliate nexus tax" on all online sales made by in-state consumers.  Out-of-state retailers would have been required to collect the tax and remit it back to Mississippi. The bill died in Committee on February 2, 2010.

New Mexico: House Bill 50 would establish an "affiliate nexus tax."  The measure would require out-of-state retailers to collect tax on New Mexico consumers and remit it to the state.

Nevada: Gov. Jim Gibbons has proposed an "affiliate nexus tax" in this year's budget.

Vermont: House Bill 661 would establish an "affiliate nexus tax" on all online sales made by Vermont consumers.

Virginia: Senate Bill 660 would have established an "affiliate nexus tax" in Virginia, subjecting all online sales to taxation. On March 1, 2010, while in the House, the Senate Bill 660 was tabled in Finance by voice vote. Additionally, Senate Bill 705 would have taxed all digital goods, as well as raised a number of other taxes.  While in the Senate, SB 705 was defeated in Finance February 16, 2010.

Washington: House Bill 2620 further clarifies legislation from last year that enacted a digital goods tax on online consumers.

Wyoming: House Bill 29 will enact a digital goods tax on digital goods. Bill was signed March 8, 2010 and is effective July 1, 2010.

 

Overview of Passed eTax Legislation/Regulation

Digital Goods Tax
Taxes on in-state sales of digital music, books, movies, and ringtones were passed in Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin in 2009.
 
To date, 18 states collect taxes on digital goods. The etax was initially passed in New Jersey in 2007 and was expanded to Indiana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah in 2008. Additionally, seven states have unilaterally decided to impose the tax through tax administrators with little or no legislative oversight in Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, New Mexico, and Texas.
 
Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, and Oklahoma have specifically exempted digital goods from taxation.
 
Affiliate Nexus ("Amazon") Tax
This year, lawmakers in Colorado enacted an unusual affiliate nexus style law (House Bill 1193) that allows the state to subpoena out-of-state retailers and require them to provide personal information about their Colorado customers to the state government.  This would enable the state to require these consumers to pay their "use tax" on any goods purchased online, while putting an enormous burden on the e-retailer community.
 
The affiliate nexus tax has also become law in New York in 2008, and in Rhode Island and North Carolina in 2009.  In 2009, it was either rejected by the legislature or vetoed by the Governor in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Minnesota, and Tennessee.
 
Streamlined Sales Tax Project
Nineteen states have reworked their tax code in compliance with the "Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement" (SSUTA), which is the set of definitions and tax laws agreed to by the small SSTP Governing Board of state legislators and tax administrators.  Four additional states are set to become compliant with SSUTA in the near future for a total of 23 SSTP states.  Click here for a complete list of SSTP states.
 
Internet Access Tax

While the federal "Internet Tax Freedom Act" was passed in 1998, preempting states from taxing internet access, at least nine states that imposed taxes prior to the bill's adoption were "grandfathered in" and permitted to continue collecting the tax.  They include Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.

In 2009, an effort to collect taxes on internet access in Louisiana was defeated in committee, largely due to the federal preemption.

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