Sen Baucus: Bringing online sales tax bill to the floor is 'a travesty'

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) objected to an amendment to the online sales tax bill from Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Sen Baucus, who serves as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said it was a "travesty" that the Marketplace Fairness Act was not going through his committee before coming to the Senate floor.

"This is a travesty, the way this bill is being considered," Chairman Baucus said. Sens Collins and Angus King (I-Maine) said their amendment would have given retailers and states a year to comply with the Marketplace Fairness Act, S. 743, which would empower states to collect taxes on purchases made online by consumers in their states. Currently, the bill gives 90 days for compliance. The bill would exempt small businesses that earn less than $1 million annually from out-of-state sales and requires states to provide retailers with software to calculate sales taxes based on a buyer’s zip code. But some senators in states without sales tax, such as Montana, say it would burden retailers in their states by forcing them to collect taxes for other state governments.