By Gina Jordan
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-895533.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – It's a move that won't be popular with online shopping enthusiasts. A push is back to force internet retailers to collect sales tax that is owed to the state of Florida. The measure hasn't gotten much attention from lawmakers, so supporters held a news conference at the Capitol Friday, hoping to give the bill a jump start. Gina Jordan reports.
When you don't pay sales tax on internet purchases, you are technically breaking Florida tax law. But the state doesn't try to collect what's owed, and that, says businessman Michael Perlman, puts him at a disadvantage.
"Nobody is beating us on price of the merchandise; they are beating us on a 6.5-percent difference that they don't have to collect."
That's 6.5-percent out of his bottom line. Perlman is President and CEO of BrandsMart USA, a Hollywood, Florida-based seller of appliances and electronics with nine stores and 26-hundred employees.
"All I want is a level playing field. There shouldn't be an advantage or really a cheat to the system. What this is doing right now is this is causing major retailers to find holes themselves to get around the Florida laws."
He held up an internet ad from a large Florida retailer that opened another company just to run its internet division and avoid sales tax collections. Democrat Michelle Rehwinkle Vasilinda is again sponsoring a measure in the House to change that. She says it's not a new tax, just one that is already owed.
"In a time when we need jobs, this is a jobs bill. In a time when we need revenue for education, for social services, this satisfies that as well. In a time when we need to have our businesses and our brick and mortar businesses have a level playing field, this is that as well."
New projections from the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board show that Florida will lose an estimated $1.2-billion in 2010 in uncollected remote sales tax. The lost tax revenue owed to the state under current law will exceed $1.5-billion by 2012.
Dominic Calabro, President and CEO of Florida Taxwatch, says Florida workers don't have to pay personal income tax, for now.
"We think most Floridians want to keep the sales tax, a consumption based tax system, as their primary source of funding Florida government. To do that we have to make the sales tax work, and in part, we have to make sure we capture the fastest growing component."
During the December shopping season, Calabro says remote sales, particularly ecommerce, grew at a rate of fourteen to fifteen-percent, making it an area that needs to be tapped. The legislation has a diverse group of supporters: Republicans, Democrats, social service advocates, and business leaders. Republican Evelyn Lynn sponsors the measure in the Senate. She says passage during this session would mean extra revenue next year when Florida won't have federal stimulus money.
"We could start collecting $40-million a year. That's absolutely imperative to our state. We are hurting for revenue; we are saying we've got to be on the cutting edge of education; we are trying to do all we can to help the disabled."
Bill co-sponsor, Republican Nancy Detert, tried to get similar legislation passed ten years ago when she was a member of the House, but the economy was doing well at the time and there was little interest.
"It's just so unfair. One retailer said to me, I'm sick and tired of being the showroom for the internet. People come in my TV store, they write down the model number, and then they go order it over the internet and don't pay any sales tax to the state of Florida.'"
The sponsors only have a few weeks left to get their proposal heard, or it will have to wait again until next year.