Last night, the US Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would allow states to collect sales taxes from online purchases. The legislation passed by a vote of 69-27 in a bipartisan manner. Both Michigan Senators Levin and Stabenow supported the measure, which now heads to the House for consideration. It is unclear how difficult the battle is to pass this in the House at this time, but the Senate vote provides a lot of positive momentum on the issue. The League wishes to extend thanks to Senators Levin and Stabenow for supporting the League’s position on this issue. If this legislation becmoes law, it could result in significant revenues for Michigan. Some estimate the revenue to be at least $140 million annually that is currently not being collected from these online transactions.

Summer Minnick is the Director of Policy Initiatives and Federal Affairs. She can be reached at 517-908-0301 or sminnick@mml.org.