Hawaiʻi joined 34 other states and the District of Columbia in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider the court’s outdated “physical presence” rule, which restricts states’ ability to collect certain taxes from out-of-state retailers announced Attorney General Doug Chin.
The brief, led by Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, supports the State of South Dakota in South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc.
“As more and more people shop online—including just by using their phones—states are losing tax revenues to which they are entitled,” Attorney General Chin said. “There is no longer a justifiable legal reason to tax brick-and-mortar stores differently from online retailers. This is why Hawaiʻi has taken the position that ‘physical presence’ alone should not determine whether a retailer can be taxed in Hawaiʻi. The position we are asking the Supreme Court to take will clarify this nationwide.”
In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in National Bellas Hess v. Department of Revenue that states were prohibited from requiring out-of-state retailers to collect sales and use taxes on goods purchased through the mail.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD
South Dakota recently passed a law requiring online retailers to collect South Dakota sales taxes.
On Sept. 14, 2017, the South Dakota Supreme Court held South Dakota’s statute unconstitutional because only the U.S. Supreme Court can reconsider its own rulings. South Dakota asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit the matter.
Hawaiʻi supports South Dakota’s effort to overturn the physical presence rule set forth in Bellas Hess and later reaffirmed in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1992 ruling in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD
Colorado and Hawaiʻi were joined in the brief by Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.
A copy of the amicus brief can be downloaded here.
This comments section is a public community forum for the purpose of free expression. Although Big Island Now encourages respectful communication only, some content may be considered offensive. Please view at your own discretion. View Comments
Hawaiʻi joined 34 other states and the District of Columbia in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider the court’s outdated “physical presence” rule, which restricts states’ ability to collect certain taxes from out-of-state retailers announced Attorney General Doug Chin.
