Sununu takes action on sales tax ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that states can require online retailers to collect sales tax on purchases that come from states where they don’t have any shops, offices or warehouses. So, for example, an online retailer in New Hampshire would have to collect the sales tax from a shopper in Massachusetts, where the sales tax is 6.25 percent, and then make sure the money is sent to that state’s revenue department.

New Hampshire does not have a sales tax, and to protect that, Gov. Chris Sununu has called for a special session of the Legislature to consider a measure that requires any jurisdiction seeking to collect sales taxes in New Hampshire to get approval from the state’s Department of Justice.

“With this proposal we’ll send a message to every out-of-state taxing jurisdiction and authority: If you try come into our state and force our businesses to collect their sales tax, you’re gonna have the fight of your life,” said Sununu.

Other states are hailing the Supreme Court ruling, arguing they are losing out on billions of dollars in revenue every year. A president of a chamber of commerce in Nassau County in New York State said, “New York state and many states were missing out on the sales tax from third-party providers. Although consumers love not paying it, in the long run it is a detriment to the state and quality of life.”

Is the governor correct in seeking to make it more difficult for other states to collect sales tax from New Hampshire businesses?