 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 | ||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
||||
 | |||||||||||||||
|
 |
 |
 |
 | |||
 | |||
 | |||
 | |||
 |
 | ||
 | |||
 | |||
 |
 |
 | |
 | |||
 | |||
 | |||
 | |||
| Wednesday, April 18, 2001 |
Arlington, Va., September 29, 2000- Today, David Bullington, Vice President of Taxes, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., testified on behalf of IMRA and its membership at the Streamlined Sales Tax Project in Chicago. At a special hearing on the Project’s proposal for sales tax simplification and standardization, Bullington said that Wal-Mart and the other IMRA member companies “applaud the efforts underway by the Streamlined Sales Tax Project.” Bullington, who in April testified at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Internet taxation, restated the position of the e-Fairness Coalition (IMRA and Wal-Mart are among the founding members) in support of fairness for businesses and consumers. The coalition advocates “a level playing field that ensures that consumers are treated fairly no matter where they choose to shop,” he said. Bullington noted that existing state sales tax rules, largely instituted before e-Commerce became a reality, have created “two fields of retail competition” where, on one playing field, brick-and-mortar retail stores are required to collect sales tax on behalf of states and localities and, on the other, Internet and other remote sellers need not. “We are opposed to new and discriminatory taxes on the Internet itself, Bullington said. “We are simply talking about the fairest, most efficient way to collect existing taxes. We believe that simplification and standardization across state lines are essential to achieving a level playing field.” Bullington expressed the industry’s hope that “all the stakeholders” were now ready cooperate to enact the “state-by-state legislation necessary for a more simplified system through which eventual across-the-board collection can be required.” “Our review of your proposal indicates that tremendous strides have been made toward a more workable system, even toward many of those simplification goals set forth by the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce,” Bullington said. Among the provisions of the Project’s proposal, he cited the following as significant: electronic registration for out-of-state retailers; a uniform return; electronic filing of returns; a standard format for remittances; restrictions on the frequency of rate changes; and “seller held harmless” protection for reliance upon an exemption certificate. In closing, Bullington re-emphasized the importance of simplification and standardization in resolving the issue of e-commerce taxation. He also cautioned against viewing technology solutions as “ends within themselves.” “We must all stay the course on achieving meaningful uniformity and simplification in the bills the various state houses will soon be asked to pass,” he said. “Yes, technology solutions should be encouraged as part of encouraging significant and rapid movement toward simpler systems with greater consistency across state lines. But I urge you, by all means, do not give up even if Congress should insist on yet a few more painful steps toward simplification.” IMRA President Robert J. Verdisco, commenting on Bullington’s testimony and the Streamlined Project’s proposal, said, “I am pleased the Streamlined Project sought out the testimony of IMRA and thank David Bullington of Wal-Mart for his hard work on the Project and for delivering our testimony on behalf of all IMRA members. “While I applaud the progress the Streamlined Project has made and urge them to continue with their efforts, I would like to reiterate what we said in our testimony. Congressional supporters of a level playing field for sales tax collection have introduced legislation that outlines what they consider to be the necessary simplification before states can be allowed to compel out of state retailers to collect their sales taxes. While the Project’s proposal addresses a number of those elements, it does not meet all of the goals set forth in the legislation. This disparity will have to be reconciled before Congress will ever agree to allow states to impose a collection requirement on retailers located outside their borders.” The International Mass Retail Association--the world’s leading alliance of retailers and their product and service suppliers--is committed to bringing price-competitive value to the world’s consumers. IMRA improves its members’ businesses by providing industry research and education, government advocacy, and a unique forum for its members to establish relationships, solve problems, and work together for the benefit of the consumer and the mass retail industry. IMRA represents many of the best-known and most successful retailers in the world, who operate thousands of stores worldwide. IMRA equally values among its members hundreds of the world’s top-tier product and service suppliers, working with their retailer partners to further the growth of the mass retail industry. Return to Press Release index for September 2000 |
|
|
|
Home | About | Join | Calendar | News | Research | IMRA 2001 | Membership | Government Affairs |