As state lawmakers look for areas to deal with an expected budget shortfall, a couple of legislators are pushing legislation that would go after taxes that are not being collected from Internet sales.
The proposal would have Missouri join 24 other states, such as Kansas and Iowa, in a compact to assure the state collects taxes from Internet sales with merchants in other states.
Under the agreement, if a Missourian buys from an in-state online company, the revenue collected from the sales tax will go to the point of origin, or the local area in which the company is located. If a purchaser buys a product from an out-of-state Internet business, then the sales tax revenue collected goes to the point of delivery, or where the purchaser is located.
Rep. Margo McNeil, D-St. Louis County, called the streamlined sales tax a way to end the advantage that online retailers have over traditional brick-and-mortar businesses.
"The tax is a step in trying to even the playing field because right now we have a lot of people who are going in and using the stores as a showroom and then going home and buying on the Internet," McNeil said.
The proposal to join the multi-state compact has been floating around Missouri's legislature for the past few years. Last year, the measure cleared both House and Senate committees, but it did not get a full chamber vote. Both this year and last, no organization spoke in opposition to the idea to the House committee.
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