The Florida Retail Federation (FRF) is working to mitigate the impacts of misinformation regarding the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would level the playing field for Florida retailers who collect sales tax. Among Act opponents is Rep. Ron DeSantis, who has frequently stated his concern to the legislation in the media.
DeSantis and others have suggested that small businesses with an online presence will have to devote substantial or even prohibitive resources to comply with new, burdensome requirements; yet in truth, the Act exempts small businesses as well as sellers with less than $1,000,000 in remote sales annually.
Further, DeSantis has claimed that the legislation will burden online businesses with having to comply with about 9,600 different taxing jurisdictions in the US and open businesses up to audits from other states. In actuality, the Act is designed to make multistate collection easy, with states providing free software for managing complains and holding retailers harmless for errors that result from these systems. Further, there is no business exposure to state audits while using these systems.
DeSantis has also claimed that the bill represents taxation without representation — but if anything, the opposite is true. Florida’s sales tax would only be collected on products delivered in Florida.
“The Marketplace Fairness Act will create fairness in our state’s sales tax, and we believe it is good public policy for Florida businesses and residents. It is unfortunate that so much of the opposition is apparently based on misinformation. It is our hope that by providing accurate information here in Florida, we can counter some of the scare tactics being generated by Washington D.C. lobbyists,” said FRF president and CEO Rick McAllister. “We will continue to try and meet with Rep. DeSantis personally so we can encourage him to stand up for the retailers in his district, not the lobbyists in Washington D.C.”
The e-fairness legislation is pending in the US House.
