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10th Circuit Upholds Tax Reporting Law

By Stephanie Forshee
April 01, 2016

Because of a controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 1992, online retailers don't charge sales tax in states where they don't have a physical presence. It's a situation that traditional retailers have bemoaned for years. To their dismay, the U.S. Congress hasn't done a thing about it.

Traditional retailers did notch something of a victory earlier this year, however. An appeals court upheld a Colorado law that requires online retailers to assist the state in collecting a so-called “use tax” directly from consumers ' a maneuver that, at least in theory, would end tax-free online sales in the state and level the playing field between in-state and online retailers. The ruling could spur additional judicial and legislative action in the long-simmering sales tax debate.

In a 45-page ruling, Direct Marketing Associuation (DMA) v. Brohl, No. 12-1175 (10th Cir. Feb. 22, 2106), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld a statute that requires online retailers with no physical presence in Colorado to file an annual report notifying Colorado tax authorities of the purchases made by state residents. The Direct Marketing Association, a trade group that represents marketers, had argued that the law violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. But the court rejected DMA's arguments.

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