Online sales tax supporters hope gamble pays off

Supporters of online sales tax legislation have been promised a vote in the Senate in 2016, but the timing is vague and House consideration is uncertain.

To secure considerations of the online sales tax bill known as the Marketplace Fairness Act, advocates traded away one of their major bargaining chips by allowing a separate long-term ban on local Internet access taxes from going forward. There is no guarantee the tactic will pay off amid a condensed election-year schedule, but advocates are bullish, nonetheless. And they are putting pressure on the House to deliver. House Speaker Paul Ryan’s office, however, said he had made no commitment nor had he set a timeline. In the past, the real roadblocks to passage have been grounded in the House, and Ryan’s office has simply “encouraged” committee work on the issue.