ACTION ALERT!!
Protecting Small Businesses from Unfair Competition
The South Carolina Small Business Chamber is supporting a bill (H.3010) by Representative Nathan Balletine to address the collection of state sales tax from online sales by out-of-state retailers. As you know our brick-and-mortar stores are a distinct competitive disadvantage again online retailers because the latter do not collect sales tax on the sales.
There is an effort in Congress to permit states to require online retailers to collect and remit a state’s sales tax. Should this happen, H.3010 instructs our Department of Revenue to take the necessary steps for the states to require sales tax to be collected from online sales and remitted to the state. H.3010 goes further and directs that any state revenue generated from this process be used exclusively for roads and bridge construction and improvements. The Small Business Chamber is not wed to this latter part of this bill.
Please send Representative Ballentine an email and tell him that you support his bill H.3010 because it will create a fair playing field between brick-and- mortar stores and online retailers regarding the collection of sales tax.
Representative Nathan Ballentine – nathanballentine@schouse.gov