If the Mississippi Legislature had the power of divine healing, it would make the lame man blind.
This week, a no-brainer of a bill that would produce desperately needed revenue for the state while simultaneously leveling the playing field for Mississippi retailers, is laboring through the legislative sausage-grinder on High Street.
House Bill 480 would require internet retailers with annual sales of $250,000 or more to pay the same 7 percent sales tax on purchases made in the state that local businesses are required to pay. Legislators backing the proposal estimate the measure would add anywhere from $150 million to $300 million annually to the state.
That money would go to repairing the state’s roads and bridges, which are badly in need of attention. According to a report by the Mississippi Economic Council last year, bringing our highway infrastructure up to snuff would require $350 million annually over 10 years.
With the state facing a deepening budget crisis, this is the least draconian solution available.
The internet sales tax bill is neither punitive or unreasonable. It is a common sense approach that not only helps the bottom line but helps our state’s retailers.
In the era of internet sales, local retailers already face some natural disadvantages. The appeal of buying online and having that product shipped to your door, often for free, gives online retailers – almost all of them based outside the state, by the way – an unfair advantage over local businesses.
Even some online retailers acknowledge they should be collecting these taxes. Last month, Amazon agreed to collect the 7 percent sales tax Mississippi law requires to avoid litigation that some states are considering. That alone will return an estimated $15 million to $30 million to the state, says Dept. of Revenue director Herb Frierson.
It is no accident that this legislation is proposed as a non-revenue bill. That means it is presented not as a new tax, but an effort to close an enormous loophole in an existing tax.
Given the lack of organized opposition from those online retailers, you might assume the bill would sail through the legislature and be promptly signed into law.
But this is the Mississippi legislature we’re talking about here.
While the bill passed the House by a 77-40 vote, it was held up on a “motion to reconsider,” which means the bill won’t be sent to Senate right away, if ever.
It’s enough to make you pull your hair out.
Opponents, including Gary Chism (R, Columbus), stubbornly resist under the rallying cry “I wasn’t sent to Jackson to raise taxes!”
Closing this loophole isn’t an additional tax.
As is, consumers face a state-imposed 7 percent surcharge for buying locally versus buying online. This should be seen as a move toward leveling an unfair playing field between our local business owners and online retailers.
Opposition to the internet sale tax bill is an act of petulance which does real harm not only to our local retailers, but to every resident of the state.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.