A number of states are calling on Congress to authorize them to collect sales taxes on interstate Internet transactions, including at a congressional hearing early this month. The states claim that they have simplified their sales tax systems so that compliance is no longer burdensome.
The growing number of sales tax jurisdictions, as reported by the taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. software company Vertex, suggests the states have more simplification work to do. There are now 9,998 different sales taxA sales tax is levied on retail sales of goods and services and, ideally, should apply to all final consumption with few exemptions. Many governments exempt goods like groceries; base broadening, such as including groceries, could keep rates lower. A sales tax should exempt business-to-business transactions which, when taxed, cause tax pyramiding. jurisdictions in the United States, up more than 300 when Vertex last reported the figure in 2011.
The number of jurisdictions vary widely by state. New Jersey, despite a plethora of local governments, has just two jurisdictions – statewide and areas bordering Delaware. Texas by contrast, despite endorsing congressional action while itself declined to adopt uniform tax definitions or other sales tax reforms, has over 1,500 different sales tax jurisdictions.
Certainly, number of jurisdictions isn't everything. We have put together a chart of essential simplifications in a federal online sales tax bill, including unified audits, uniform bases and definitions, notice of rate and base changes, liability waivers, and federal court jurisdiction. No matter how it’s measured, states haven’t yet fulfilled their promises to simplify their sales taxes.
|
State |
Total Sales Tax Jurisdictions, 2014 |
|
Alabama |
791 |
|
Alaska |
103 |
|
Arizona |
131 |
|
Arkansas |
370 |
|
California |
231 |
|
Colorado |
307 |
|
Connecticut |
1 |
|
District of Columbia |
1 |
|
Florida |
56 |
|
Georgia |
162 |
|
Guam |
1 |
|
Hawaii |
2 |
|
Idaho |
9 |
|
Illinois |
443 |
|
Indiana |
1 |
|
Iowa |
994 |
|
Kansas |
428 |
|
Kentucky |
1 |
|
Louisiana |
341 |
|
Maine |
1 |
|
Maryland |
1 |
|
Massachusetts |
1 |
|
Michigan |
1 |
|
Minnesota |
35 |
|
Mississippi |
3 |
|
Missouri |
1242 |
|
Nebraska |
209 |
|
Nevada |
18 |
|
New Jersey |
2 |
|
New Mexico |
142 |
|
New York |
84 |
|
North Carolina |
105 |
|
North Dakota |
137 |
|
Ohio |
96 |
|
Oklahoma |
587 |
|
Pennsylvania |
3 |
|
Puerto Rico |
79 |
|
Rhode Island |
1 |
|
South Carolina |
41 |
|
South Dakota |
251 |
|
Tennessee |
125 |
|
Texas |
1515 |
|
Utah |
310 |
|
Vermont |
12 |
|
Virginia |
174 |
|
Washington |
346 |
|
West Virginia |
11 |
|
Wisconsin |
70 |
|
Wyoming |
23 |
|
TOTALS |
9998 |
Source: Vertex, Inc.
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