By Hank Stephenson | Arizona Capitol Times
A handful of Republicans in the House on Tuesday joined with Democrats to kill legislation meant to keep the state from collecting more income if Congress approves legislation requiring online sellers to collect state sales taxes.
The Marketplace Fairness Act is a federal bill designed to allow states to collect sales taxes on Internet purchases, such as sales through Amazon.com. But Republican Rep. J.D. Mesnard of Chandler wants to ensure that if the federal bill is approved, Arizona won’t actually be collecting more taxes.
His HB2061 would force the state Department of Revenue to cut income taxes by the same amount collected in the first year the state begins collecting Internet sales taxes, if the federal Marketplace Fairness Act becomes law and requires online sellers to collect sales taxes for states.
