E-Fairness Bill Leveling the Playing Field for Florida’s Businesses Passes Committee Stop

February 03, 2012 | Important Updates Print

The Florida Chamber of Commerce supports leveling the playing field for Florida’s small businesses and retailers by closing the internet sales tax loophole. When internet-only retailers do not collect sales taxes, Florida businesses are put at an automatic 6.5% competitive disadvantage.

A Florida Chamber-backed e-fairness bill – SB 1514 by Sen. Nancy Detert – passed the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee late yesterday. This legislation is specifically important to Florida’s small businesses because it:

• Requires equal application of the law between online-only and brick-and-mortar retailers to ensure sales and use taxes are collected in a simple and fair fashion;
• Protects consumers by ensuring that an online-only retailer properly collects and remits sales tax and does not leave the burden on customers; and
• Ensures small businesses investing in our communities are not punished by an unfair tax advantage for internet-only retailers.

“This is a major step forward,” said Mark Wilson, President & CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. “We applaud lawmakers for advancing revenue-neutral e-fairness legislation in the Senate. It represents a lifeline to struggling small businesses and Senate leaders deserve a lot of credit for their timely efforts in support of Main Street.”

The Florida Chamber has partnered with the Florida Alliance for Main Street Fairness, a coalition that is standing up for businesses, consumers, and taxpayers by working to close the internet sales tax loophole.

We need new jobs, not new taxes. The Florida Chamber is working to get Florida’s economy back on track without raising taxes to do it. That’s why it’s time to bring fairness back to the tax system by closing the internet sales tax loophole. Closing the loophole will encourage local, home-grown job creation while helping to close budget shortfalls.

To learn more about how the Florida Chamber is working to level the playing field for Florida’s businesses, visit the e-fairness issue page at www.FloridaChamber.com. To sign-up for more alerts and updates from the Florida Chamber on your top priorities, visit www.FloridaChamber.com/grassroots.