NPR: Supreme Court Ruling Means Some Online Purchases Will Cost More

While the court made clear that the states do not have unlimited power to require sales tax collection, “The court blessed South Dakota’s law,” said Carl Davis, research director for the Institute of Taxation and Economic policy.

The law specifically protects small businesses from collecting sales taxes if they have less than $100,000 in sales or fewer than 200 transactions in the state. The state also provides sales tax collection software for free for any business that wants it, and using that software immunizes the business from audit liability. Perhaps most importantly, the state law does not permit sales tax collection for past purchases, meaning that businesses don’t have to worry about a huge tax bill that they never anticipated. Read more

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