Heidi Alexander: “I thank the Senator for her knowledge and her contribution to the debate. Of course, what she is emphasizing is that if…”

“I thank the Senator for her knowledge and her contribution to the debate. Of course, what she is emphasizing is that if we do act, we simplify things for the small businessperson. For one thing, we exempt anyone whose revenues are less than $1 million. That, by some economists' studies, is 99 percent of all Internet sellers. If we don't act and a case is won in the Supreme Court today, that is different than 20 years ago. There is no $1 million exemption--there is no $1 million exemption--and there is exposure to 9,600 tax districts if they win that case. So the thing to think about is if we do our job, and the Supreme Court said 20 years ago we are the ones to do it--and 74 or 75 of us 3 times now have indicated we think we should through this 12-page bill, we will provide an exemption for virtually all Internet sellers, we will create rules that simplify, and we will give States the opportunity to do what States should have the opportunity to do. My heavens, I hear some people say--and I have said this on the floor-- Washington didn't trust the States to make these decisions about tax matters. Nobody in Tennessee trusts Washington to make decisions about tax matters. So what this bill does is say to the State of Tennessee or Delaware, it is your business; you decide it. If what you want to do is collect tax from some of the people who owe it and not all of the people who owe it-- States have the right to be right; States have the right to be wrong.…”