Florida could become the 24th state to collect sales tax on purchases from Amazon.com and other online and out-of-state vendors if some lawmakers and business advocates get their way.
In a Friday press conference to generate support for their stalled bills, Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Daytona Beach, and Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, urged Florida to implement the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement and reap the bounty of a vast supply of uncollected taxes.
This is not a new tax, said Lynn, sponsor of the Senate bill that would implement the agreement. It is a tax that is lawfully owed.
The agreement, proposed in SB 204 and HB 165, would allow Florida to receive state sales and use taxes on purchases from internet vendors and out-of-state sellers on a voluntary system.
Complying with the agreement under a revised sales tax system could yield $40 million for the state next year, according to Florida TaxWatch, a nonprofit government watchdog. Florida will lose $1.5 billion in uncollected sales taxes by 2012 if it doesnt implement the tax, according to TaxWatch.
Trying to pass the legislation is becoming an unpleasant routine, said Rehwinkel Vasilinda, who is sponsoring the House version of the bill. She and Lynn proposed the same legislation last year and failed to pass it through committees. Now, it looks like that might happen again.
Not doing this is like a small businessperson putting up blinders and not looking at half the accounts receivable, she said.
Since the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax program started, 23 states have implemented it.
Lynn also proposed sending a memorial to the federal Congress requesting that it change the Streamline Sales and Use program from a voluntary collection system to a required one, a change that might happen if enough states demand it.
The steepest hurdle to the bill is that it would require the state to change its sales tax formula, which could result in a loss of state funds.
TaxWatch has proposed a revision that would allow the change to be revenue neutral and balance the loss of revenue to the state with an increase in revenue to local governments.
Its simple. Its direct. And it saves them money, said Dominic Calabro, president of TaxWatch.
