In March 12 testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, R Street Institute Senior Fellow Andrew Moylan noted that S. 743, the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA), would undermine basic principles of sound tax policy, impose unequal collection burdens on businesses and constitute a substantial burden on interstate commerce.

However, Moylan added that extending simple “origin sourcing” collection standards already in use nationwide for brick-and-mortar sales to all remote sales as well would address the concern that current law is inadequate, maintain important tax policy protections and meet Internet sales tax principles laid out by Chairman Goodlatte late last year. This shift would ensure that all retail sales are governed by the same straightforward rules, requiring tax collection based on the physical location of the business, not the residence of the buyer.

Featured Publications