Shaheen Statement on Supreme Court Challenge to Sales Tax Ruling

**New Hampshire small businesses should not be forced to collect taxes for other states**

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the lead Democrat on the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court said it would hear a challenge to Quill v. North Dakota, a 1992 case prohibiting states from requiring out-of-state retailers and online sellers to collect sales tax:

“The Supreme Court should uphold its decision in Quill v. North Dakota and reaffirm a principle that has protected Granite State small businesses and online retailers from costly red tape and helped them thrive through e-commerce,” said Shaheen. “A reversal by the Court would be especially damaging to New Hampshire where our small businesses have no experience collecting sales taxes and should not be forced to become tax collectors for other states. I will closely monitor the Court’s deliberations and continue to vigorously oppose efforts in Congress that make it harder for New Hampshire companies selling products online to compete with big-box stores and giant e-retailers.”

Shaheen has successfully fought efforts to enact the Marketplace Fairness Act, legislation to overturn the Supreme Court’s Quill v. North Dakota ruling. The legislation would subject many New Hampshire businesses to significant red tape and administrative costs by forcing them to collect sales tax for 46 other states and 9,600 taxing jurisdictions across the country.  

Shaheen also requested a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that described the significant costs associated with requiring online businesses to collect sales taxes for other states. The independent report rebuts claims by proponents of the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act that it would not impose additional compliance burdens on small businesses, especially in non-sales tax states.