Goodlatte, Bachus highlight internet sales tax principles

Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) spoke on Wednesday about the basic principles of internet sales tax.

“Americans across the country are affected by the issue of Internet sales tax whether they are consumers or business owners,” Goodlatte said. “The aim of the principles is to provide a starting point for discussion in the House of Representatives. I greatly look forward to hearing fresh approaches to this issue and continuing the discussion.”

The principles include not creating new or discriminatory taxes on the internet compared to those faced in the offline world and providing equal footing for both online and offline sales.

The principles also call for direct recourse to protest unfair, unwise or discriminatory rates and enforcement, simplification of laws and compliance, and competition to keep tax rates low.

Additionally, according to the principles, the federal government should not mandate that states impose and sales tax compliance burden and sensitive customer data must be protected.

“The principles issued by Chairman Goodlatte provide a thoughtful framework for discussion on the Internet sales tax issue,” Bachus said. “As chair of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over Internet tax issues, I appreciate that the Chairman is giving it serious consideration.”