Congress weighs online tax bill

A bill before Congress would give states like Indiana new power to collect sales taxes on online purchases.

The measure, known as the Marketplace Equity Act, is meant to help states collect on sales taxes and use fees which would otherwise be required on online purchases. Organizations that represent state governments estimate that $20 billion of sales tax goes uncollected each year nation-wide.

Some companies that sell goods online worry that the added taxes could cost them business. Scott Lawler of Lawler Sports in Terre Haute said that his business depends heavily on online sales.

“Having customers have to pay shipping and sales tax, that’s really going to make them … waiver away from buying online,” Lawler said.

Lawler said new taxes in different states would also require much more work from online businesses.

“We’ll have to go into our system in which we do sales, go into our Web site and adjust every single person in every single state for their sales tax,” Lawler said.

Despite those concerns, the measure has gained support among Democratic and Republican leaders at the state and Federal level.