Florida: E-fairness legislation moves forward

Two bills have been filed for the 2020 legislative session that would require online sellers to collect and remit sales taxes to the state.

SB 126, sponsored by Sen. Joe Gruters, and companion legislation HB 159, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Clemons, would impose a sales and use tax obligation on remote sellers and marketplace facilitators with more than $100,000 in sales or 200 sales transactions.

The Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee advanced SB 126 with a unanimous vote in October and it next goes to the Senate Finance and Tax Committee.

“States are the laboratories of democracy, and Florida is most often the leader in the nation when it comes to good policy,” Clemons said. “But when it comes to this issue, we’re one of just two states that has not yet fixed this problem. Florida businesses are losing out, and Florida families are suffering because of it.”

The legislation is supported by ICSC, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Retail Federation.

Florida and Missouri are the only states with sales tax that have not changed their online sales tax collection laws in the wake of the landmark June 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, which allows states to compel out-of-state remote sellers to collect and remit sales taxes.