Rep. DeSantis Statement on Misleading Reports Regarding the Marketplace Fairness Act

Statement

I've seen a number of media reports which mischaracterize the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act (a.k.a. the internet tax) as a tax on businesses. It is a tax on consumers. With respect to out-of-state sales, businesses are responsible for determining, collecting and remitting the tax to state in which the buyer resides, not the state in which the business is located. This represents the worst of both worlds: the consumer pays the tax while the business is burdened with additional red tape.

Furthermore, it is wildly inaccurate to say, as some claim, that the internet tax "levels the playing field." A Florida business which relies on purely local sales is not responsible for determining the residency of its customers; it simply collects and remits the sales tax to the state of Florida regardless of where the customer is from.

The internet sales tax, however, would place unique burdens on Florida businesses relying on remote sales, as these businesses would be forced to abide by (the ever-changing) tax laws of thousands of taxing jurisdictions throughout the United States.

Thus, Florida businesses which rely on remote sales will face substantially greater compliance costs and will be exposed to out-of-state audits at the hands of taxing authorities in states such as California and Illinois. This is profoundly unfair.

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