On the recordMarch 21, 2013
I thank Senator Murray for her great leadership. I also wish to thank Senator Enzi and Senator Durbin on the Marketplace Fairness Act. This is a bill and an amendment that needs to pass. It is incredibly important to small businesses, big businesses, and to people across this country who work for retailers. When I travel around my State, I hear from small, locally owned retailers about the competitive disadvantage they face against online retailers, small businesses such as Creative Kidstuff that sells educational and developmental books for kids and Thrifty White Pharmacy, a full-service, employee-owned drugstore. Right now, States are currently unable to require out-of-State or online-only retailers to collect sales tax and it puts local mom-and- pop stores at a disadvantage. Not only that, but this tax loophole is draining billions of dollars in lost revenues from State and local governments--$23 billion last year alone across the country. In effect, this tax loophole subsidizes some taxpayers at the expense of others and some businesses over others. That is why we call this the Marketplace Fairness Act. I have been committed to a competitive agenda for this country since I got to the Senate, and part of that agenda includes not only encouraging competition and innovation, but it is also about having an even playing field for our businesses. Minnesota alone lost about $394 million in 2011 from out-of-State sales that are legally due but not collected.…
