Resolution 166-2000
County Administrator
RESOLUTION NO. 166 - 2000
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA, IN SUPPORT OF THE SIMPUFICATION OF
STATE AND LOCAL SALES TAXES, THE FAIR AND EQUITABLE
TREATMENT OF REMOTE SEllERS AND "MAIN STREET" RETAILERS,
AND REQUESTING THAT CONGRESS NOT EXTEND THE CURRENT
INTERNET TAX MORATORIUM
WHEREAS, out-of-state remote sellers who conduct sales via the Internet, mail order,
and phone are not required by law to collect existing sales and use taxes imposed by sate and
local governments; and
WHEREAS, the primary barrier to collecting taxes on remote sales is the Supreme
Court's ruling in Quill v. North Dakota which defers to Congress to authorize states to require
remote sellers to collect taxes in a manner that does not unduly burden interstate commerce;
and
WHEREAS, state and local governments are working together to implement a streamlined
sales tax system that would simplify definitions, tax rates and tax bases and use 21st Century
technology in the collection process; and
WHEREAS, current laws create a competitive disadvantage and great inequities between
merchants who sell from traditional "brick and mortar" establishments and those who sell from
electronic stores; and
WHEREAS, increasing sales on the Internet, and the resulting erosion of sales and use
tax revenues, will limit the ability of states and governments and school districts to finance
essential public services such as police, fire, emergency medical service, education, social
services, infrastructure development, and healthcare; and
WHEREAS, a recent University of Tennessee study estimates that state sales tax
revenue losses in 2003 will exceed $10 billion; and
WHEREAS, the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce failed to reach a legally
required consensus on fair and equitable treatment of both remote sellers and "Main Street"
retailers and also proposed that Congress preempt state and local sovereignty guaranteed by
the US Constitution; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE
COUNTY, FLORIDA, that:
Section 1. This Board supports simplification of state and local sales taxes, and urges
states to move expeditiously to develop and approve model simplification legislation.
Section 2. Congress should not extend or expand the current moratorium until its
expiration in October 2001.
Section 3. If state and local governments choose to negotiate a brief extension of
the existing moratorium as part of a broader bill, such an extension:
a) should only be effective for a short period of time (no more than two years)
b) must be linked to states' successfully implementing sales tax simplification, which
would trigger Congressional authorization of expanded duty to collect use taxes on
remote sales.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County,
Florida, at a regular meeting of said Board held on the 20th day of April, 2000.
Mayor Shirley Freeman
Commissioner Wilhelmina Harvey
Commissioner George Neugent
. sioner Mary Kay Reich
. . oner Nora Wi II iams
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BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
By cS~-F~
Mayor/ Chairperson
.KOLHAGE, Clerk
Deputy Clerk
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