TechNet, representing tech CEOs and executives, is campaigning hard against a budget proposal by New York governor Andrew Cuomo that would require online transaction sites including Amazon and eBay to collect state sales taxes from New York residents.
“The Marketplace Sales Tax scheme would hurt New Yorkers, increase costs, and undermine the innovation economy,” said Matthew Mincieli, Northeast region executive director for TechNet. “This proposal sends a clear signal to small and emerging online marketplaces: come to New York at your own peril. We know the Governor and the Legislature want to help the tech industry thrive, but this proposal is not the way to do it. We urge our leaders in Albany to remove this proposal from the final adopted budget.”
TechNet will be trying to get New Yorkers to contact their state legislators with their opposition to the proposal.
Currently, sales taxes can be collected only if the marketplace—Amazon, Etsy—is located in the state.
TechNet is joined in the campaign by WE R HERE, which comprises small retailers.
Democrats in Congress had tried without success to pass a national version of the tax, the Marketplace Fairness Act, that would allow states to collect taxes on goods and services purchased by their citizens without regard to where the seller of the goods was based.
Not surprisingly TechNet was an early opponent of that bill.
(Photo via Pictures of Money's Flickr. Image taken on Sept. 17, 2015 and used per Creative Commons 2.0 license. The photo was cropped to fit 9x16 aspect ratio.)
