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AFT Resolution

FAIR COLLECTION OF SALES TAXES ON ELECTRONIC (REMOTE) COMMERCE

WHEREAS, state sales taxes provide 48 percent of total state tax revenue; and

WHEREAS, this revenue source is vital to the provision of quality public services; and
 
WHEREAS, the viability of the sales tax has been threatened by the expansion of the service economy and the growth of remote commerce via the Internet and catalog sales; and
 
WHEREAS, in 2006, state and local government lost an estimated $45.2 billion in annual sales tax revenues as a result of this dramatic growth of catalog and electronic commerce, with the number expected to increase annually; and
 
WHEREAS, by 2011, the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee estimates that the loss to state and local government will rise to $54.8 billion; and
 
WHEREAS, the loss of this revenue to state and local government whose budgets are already strained by the economic downturn is threatening the funding and delivery of quality public services; and
 
WHEREAS, the federal courts have ruled that because of the complexity of the more than 700 different state and local sales tax codes, remote vendors, including catalog companies and retailers using the Internet, are not responsible for collecting state and local sales taxes from consumers; and
 
WHEREAS, because of inequalities in computer access, commonly referred to as the digital divide, the privileged will be more likely to purchase online thus avoiding the sales tax, placing the sales tax burden disproportionately on poorer families; and
 
WHEREAS, 37 states that use a sales tax have created a compact to streamline and simplify these taxes to alleviate the administrative burdens on remote sellers; and
 
WHEREAS, Congress has failed to act to approve the use of such a system for the collection of sales tax on electronic commerce:
RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers promote and support the passage of federal legislation allowing for the collection of sales tax on electronic commerce and other remote purchases; and
 
RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers continue to follow the Streamlined Sales Tax Project to insure that the interests of our members are included in the final product; and
 
RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers urge state federations to take action on the state level that complements the work of the AFT in support of this federal legislation.

(2009)

Please note that a newer resolution, or portion of a resolution, may have superseded an earlier resolution on the same subject. As a result, with the exception of resolutions adopted at our most recent AFT convention, resolutions do not necessarily reflect current AFT policies.