Steve Cohen: “First, let me clarify that this amendment is not about whether or not mail order purchases are subject to State sales…”

“First, let me clarify that this amendment is not about whether or not mail order purchases are subject to State sales taxes. They are. Every State, other than the four that have been mentioned, impose taxes on mail order purchases. The issue at hand is the method by which these taxes are collected. Under the current law, States cannot force out-of-State mail order companies to collect taxes for them, and the reason is simple: There are over 6,000 different tax jurisdictions in the country, and once you account for all of the various State, county, local taxes, it would be absurd to expect mail order companies to know and understand every tone and nuance of these various 6,000 tax jurisdictions. Maine has a snack tax it imposes. I have a copy of the Bureau of Taxation document from the State of Maine. It is only a summary, but it takes some seven pages to explain just the exemptions. And every State has exemptions from their sales tax. Here is the Maine regulation dealing with fruit baskets, for example. It says: Baskets or dishes filled with fruit or other grocery staples are not subject to tax.”