The following is cross-posted on www.StopETaxes.com.

Good news for Tennessee taxpayers.  A proposal to tax online purchases in Tennessee stalled today after the bill was pulled from committee consideration.  One of at least seven "affiliate nexus tax" proposals around the states, the bill would tax all online sales by Tennesseans if the retailer advertised through an instate company, website, or blogger.

Instead of bringing the bill (HB 1947/SB 1741) before the House Finance, Ways, and Means committee, however, the measure was "taken off notice," meaning it is up to the bill sponsor to put it back on the committee’s agenda.

While the "amazon tax" attempts to curb federal interstate commerce law that prevents states from forcing out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax, the Tennessee Department of Revenue (DOR) even admits in its fiscal note that the bill would likely not be sufficient to permit the state to collect taxes.  Similar proposals in other states have been estimated to raise taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars.  However, likely recognizing that the measure is currently undergoing significant legal challenge in New York, the DOR argued the amount of new revenue would be insignificant, as its enforcement is unconstitutional.

CLICK HERE NOW to write your legislator and ensure this onerous bill is not brought back up in committee.

Also, click here for ATR’s letter of opposition to the House and Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committees.

(photo by euthman)