The recent scramble to “do something” after the Wayfair decision said states could tax internet sales was big news.
When the New Hampshire House killed the ‘bipartisan’ draft language that was big news.
What should be even bigger news is that the language the committee used to draft the proposed legislation could hand some measure of “tax administration rulemaking” over to an out-of-state third party.
The draft language proposed by the Legisaltive committee, which can be found here, includes this under definitions.
VII. “Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement” means the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement as adopted and amended from time to time by the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board.
Who in the name of Josiah Bartlett is the “Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board”? Well, they would be thse folks.
“We applaud the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair removing the physical presence requirement and recognizing that South Dakota and similarly situated states have removed the “undue burdens” with which the Court was concerned in its 1992 Quill decision.
I can say with some certainty that taxing internet sales is almost unversally opposed by New Hampshire politicians as is the Wayfair decisison. So why did the legislative committee draft language in it’s proposed ‘solution’ linking New Hampshire law to the rules proposed by an out-of-state governing board that applauds the Supreme Court decision they are all supposed to oppose?
I have no idea.
But four score representatives in the New Hampshire House were smart enough to want a lot more detail about what that would mean before ramming the bipartisan compromise draft language through their chamber.
I think you should thank them.
