|
 Protect
Consumers
THE
ISSUE
Fair
competition in the marketplace provides added value to consumers.
Requiring online and catalog retailers to collect sales and
use taxes like their "Main Street" counterparts will ensure
that communities will receive sales tax revenues to fund essential
community services. Congress should not be in the business
of picking winners and losers. The NRF believes that all consumers
should be treated the same, whether they choose to shop in
traditional brick-and-mortar stores or through online retailers.
- While
many Americans have access to a computer and can benefit
from the convenience, product selection and competitive
pricing that online shopping provides, many Americans still
do not have access to the Internet.
- According
to a recent U.S. Department of Commerce study, wealthy individuals
are 20 times more likely to have Internet access. With an
average "Internet" household income of $70,000, only high
income persons benefit from an "unlevel tax playing field."
- Continuation
of a tax system that favors online purchases will only exacerbate
the digital divide. The marketplace should provide a climate
where consumer choice, not Internet access, influences purchase
decisions.
- Failure
to address the current sales and use tax inequity will further
shift the tax burden to low-income Americans who can only
buy on mainstreet (and thus pay sales tax at the sales counter).
FACTS
ABOUT SUSTAINING OUR COMMUNITIES
- If
the existing sales and use tax inequity continues, Americans
who can least afford to pay the taxes will have to bear
the burden for everyone.
- According
to the U.S. Department of Commerce, personalcomputers are
present in 80% of homes in which families make $75,000 a
year or more, but in fewer than] 6% percent of families
making less than $20,000. Moreover, low-income consumers
who do not have access to the Internet and must buy from
Main Street (where sales tax is collected) are once again
left carrying the tax burden for their more affluent neighbors.
- Between
19,98 and 1999, the number of "e-shoppers" increased from
17 to 39 million. With such a phenomenal growth rate, online
commerce will continue to flourish regardless if the current
sales and use tax collection laws are enforced for Internet
sales.
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