Taxation of Internet Transactions

The Council supports the position of the Internet Tax Fairness Coalition. The Coalition is an alliance of business, consumer, retail, technology and communications companies and associations that promote clear and simple tax rules for the borderless marketplace.

The Coalition supports neutral tax treatment of Internet commerce.

The Coalition supports federal legislation that would:

  • permanently ban taxes on Internet access;
  • encourage states to enter into a Congressionally-approved interstate compact to simplify and unify their sales and use tax systems;
  • provided that a sufficient number of states enter into the interstate compact, authorize the states to require out-of-state sellers to collect sales and use taxes on goods or services delivered in-state; and
  • prohibit states from imposing business activity taxes upon sellers with no physical presence in the state.

Because the Mass Technology Leadership Council believes that electronic commerce should be treated as a mainstream economic activity, the Council supports the recent Massachusetts legislation that authorized the Commonwealth to enter into the agreement simplifying state sales tax laws adopted by the Streamlined Sales Tax Project, while avoiding the imposition of onerous administrative burdens being placed upon small companies.