Supreme Court Rules That States Can Tax Online Retailers Without Physical Presence
declared
New York Times
South Dakota vs. Wayfair,
Quill vs. North Dakota,
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
legislation
Quill
written specifically
Quill
"When the day-to-day functions of marketing and distribution in the modern economy are considered, it is all the more evident that the physical presence rule is artificial in its entirety. Modern e-commerce does not align analytically with a test that relies on the sort of physical presence defined in Quill," he said. Joining him in the opinion were justices Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the dissent, said he was loathe to overturn multiple precedents on this matter, and warned that the court's decision could actually hamper the legislative solution he felt was more appropriate.
"Nothing in today’s decision precludes Congress from continuing to seek a legislative solution. But by suddenly changing the ground rules, the Court may have waylaid Congress’s consideration of the issue. Armed with today’s decision, state officials can be expected to redirect their attention from working with Congress on a national solution, to securing new tax revenue from remote retailers," he said. Joining him on the dissent were justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.