Justices Divided on Sales Taxes for Online Purchases
Justices Divided on Sales Taxes for Online Purchases Photo Marty J. Jackley, South Dakota’s attorney general, on the steps of the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Mr. Jackley argued that the sales tax case before the court did not make sense in the digital era. Credit Andrew Harnik/Associated Press WASHINGTON — A closely divided Supreme Court struggled on Tuesday to decide whether internet retailers should have to collect sales taxes in states where they have no physical presence.
Brick-and-mortar businesses have long complained that they are disadvantaged by having to charge sales taxes while many of their online competitors do not. States have said that they are missing out on tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue under a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that helped spur the rise of internet shopping.
By the end of arguments on Tuesday it was not clear whether there were five votes to overrule the 1992 decision, Quill Corporation v. North Dakota, which said that the Constitution bars state..