Supreme Court will decide if online retailers must collect sales tax

The Supreme Court agreed to reconsider one of the most contentious issues in the business world: whether online retailers must collect sales taxes. By taking on a law passed by South Dakota's legislature for the express purpose of testing its legality, the court will return to an issue it addressed 25 and 50 years ago, before consumers did nearly 10% of their shopping on the internet.

The clear signal from the justices is that they may be ready to reverse themselves and demand that online retailers collect and remit sales taxes, even in states where they have no physical presence. That would be a victory for states and traditional businesses, but a defeat for smaller online retailers who claim they cannot navigate dozens of state sales tax systems the way major players such as Amazon do.