Amazon Tax Could Put a Damper on Holiday Shopping

by Ashley Muchow The holidays are just around the corner–the smell of turkey and apple pie are in the air. As you begin documenting the expansive list of gifts to get grandma, aunt Carol, or your beloved grandson, consider this: Illinois legislators are considering a bill that would make shopping online for these loved ones...

by Ashley Muchow

The holidays are just around the corner–the smell of turkey and apple pie are in the air. As you begin documenting the expansive list of gifts to get grandma, aunt Carol, or your beloved grandson, consider this: Illinois legislators are considering a bill that would make shopping online for these loved ones more costly.

The “Amazon.com” sales tax nexus bill, SB3353, is moving through the Illinois Senate and if passed, could put a damper on online holiday shopping going forward.

John Stephenson, state government affairs manager for the National Taxpayers Union, and the Institute’s own, Kristina Rasmussen, testified before the Illinois House of Revenue and Finance Committee in late September to explain that an Amazon tax would drive away revenue from profits and payroll taxes and do little to increase state revenue.

We blogged on this issue in March, citing the Tax Foundation’s revealing study finding that a similar tax passed in states such as Rhode Island and North Carolina have not yielded additional revenues. In fact, New York and North Carolina have both been sued for violations of Constitutional privacy protections.

Best legislators take the advice of John Stephenson and “improve Illinois’s tax code for the benefit of the state and its citizens, both current and future,” instead of imposing additional taxes on its residents.