(Alexandria, VA) – Today, National Taxpayers Union (NTU) expressed tremendous disappointment and concern over the Remote Transactions Parity Act of 2015, a bill just introduced by Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT). NTU ardently warned that the legislation would violate an important, long-standing Constitutional limitation on state government power by allowing states to reach beyond their borders to collect taxes.
NTU Executive Vice President Brandon Arnold offered the following comment:
“National Taxpayers Union stands in strong opposition to the Chaffetz bill because, like the similar Marketplace Fairness Act, it would hurt taxpayers and small businesses while padding the coffers of state governments.
“While Representative Chaffetz should be applauded for acknowledging and attempting to address the numerous problems plaguing the disastrous Marketplace Fairness Act, his legislation offers little in the way of meaningful improvements for taxpayers and small businesses.
“In fact, in several ways this bill moves in the wrong direction by weakening the small seller exemption and phasing it out after three years.
“During his time in Congress, Chaffetz has often been on the side of taxpayers, but on this issue he has missed the mark badly. Which is reflected by the fact the overwhelming majority of organizations advocating for limiting government, protecting taxpayers, and freeing up the economy stand opposed to his current approach.”
“Ultimately, the Remote Transactions Parity Act would be a nightmare, requiring consumers to pay hundreds of billions of dollars in additional sales tax while imposing unprecedented compliance burdens on small, online merchants. National Taxpayers Union and our members will work tirelessly to prevent that nightmare from becoming reality.”
National Taxpayers Union, “The Voice of America’s Taxpayers”, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working for lower taxes, smaller government, and economic freedom at all levels. More information on NTU’s work is available at www.ntu.org.