US Senate Approves Internet Sales Tax Proposal Group Menbers: 朱鸿翔 蒋琳婕 李雯莹

The US Senate approved an Internet sales tax proposal on 6th May, moving the legislation to enactment and paving the way for shoppers to pay sales tax on the online purchases. The Marketplace Fairness Act requires online retailers 45 states which have sales of at least $1 million and do not have physical operations to pay taxes on purchases.

The Senate voted 69 to 27 to approve the bill.But it must be approved by the House. Some House Republicans said it would overburden Internet businesses. If the bill is enacted, academic studies estimate more than $12 billion in additional sales taxes will be collected each year. Brick-and-mortar retailers with an online presence, such as Wal-Mart, charge online- purchases tax. But you can shop tax-free at Internet-only retailers like Amazon.

Under current law, online sellers are required to collect tax in states where they have physical presences. While most states require shoppers to pay a "use tax",few people follow through. According to the survey of 2,500 consumers, about 30% of online shoppers said they would shop more at brick-and-mortar retailers. Nearly half said it would not effect on their online shopping decisions.

Words and Expressions Marketplace Fairness Act ： 市场公平法案 《市场公平法案》的主要内容便是允许美国各州政府 在简化各自纳税法规的前提下对网络电商企业征收营 业税。上述法案得到了数百家美国线下零售企业的支 持，其中包括百思买、家得宝以及沃尔玛等等。众多 线下零售企业多年来一直指责亚马逊等相似类型的电 商企业在发生交易的过程中未缴纳营业税。

The US Senate ：美国参议院是美国的立法部门 ── 美国国会的两院之一。 legislation ： n. 立法，制定法律；法律，法规 enactment ： n. （法律的）制定，颁布；法律 House Republicans ：众议院共和党

Overburden ： vt. 装载过多，负担过多，使过劳 e.g ： But on the other hand, it turns out to overburden the food supply of the world. 但另一方面，它给世界带来了沉重的粮食负担。 Brick-and-mortar ：实体的，具体的；传统实体商店 e.g ： Eventually, says Mr Clancy, those digital rights could be sold through brick-and-mortar booksellers. 克兰西先生表示，最终，那些 数码版权可能通过实体书商来进行销售。 tax-free ： adj. 免税的，不付税的 adv. 免税地 e.g ：...a tax-free investment plan. 免税的投资计划...a return of 16.5% tax free % 的免税回报 purchases tax ：购置税

Background Earlier, the U.S. Senate has voted for the proposal of collecting online sales taxes from out-of-state Internet retailers, the U.S. National Retail Federation and the retail sector leaders Federation are active supporters of the bill, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, HomeDepot, Target and other retail giants are actively lobbying the bill to pass the legislative. Under the bill, the electric commercial enterprises will collect consumption tax from consumers, the state government will collect sales tax from the electricity suppliers.

Under the current law, only when a retailer have a physical store in the state, the state government can require the retailer to pay sales tax. Those large retailers, having chain stores across the United States such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Target and other large retailers, must pay sales tax when they are selling goods via the Internet. eBay and Amazon and other online retailers do not need to pay, unless they have offices in the local or distribution center, the state government can require they to pay taxes. According to the Marketplace Fairness Act, when enterprises sell products,through the Internet, mail order, telephone and television channels, they must pay sales tax. And small businesses with less than $ 1 million in annual sales enjoy immunity.