Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I understand the passion of my colleagues from Oregon. Oregon is one of five States with no sales tax. I know they have voted down a sales tax by statewide referendum repeatedly, by margins of 2 to 1, I am told. So it is clear they have a passionate feeling about no sales tax in Oregon. Here is the good news. The bill Senator Enzi and I have introduced and want to pass in the Senate will not impose one penny of sales tax obligation on anyone living in Oregon. Whether they are purchasing over the counter or they are purchasing over the Internet--not one penny of sales tax liability. Their States rights are protected. Their passion against sales tax is honored. And the same is true in Alaska, Montana, New Hampshire, and Delaware--all the other no-sales-tax States. But this is what it really gets down to. This is not about the people in Oregon paying a sales tax. It is about the businesses--the Internet businesses in Oregon that want to sell into other States and not collect the sales tax owed to that State. That is it. We are not forcing them to sell in Illinois or Wyoming. That is a business decision they are making. We are just saying: If you sell, collect the sales tax required by Illinois law, Wyoming law, Connecticut law. That is what it comes down to. Why is it important? It is important because businesses in our State--small businesses--are competing with Internet retailers that get an automatic discount when they do not collect the sales tax.…”