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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-031 CCRMember Kay Lasman introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: RESOLUTION NO. 00-31 RESOLUTION SUPPORTING EQUITABLE FEDERAL POLICY ON INTERNET SALES TAXES WHEREAS, the use of new communications technologies, including the Internet, as a way to conduct sales of goods and services is accelerating; and WHEREAS, out-of-state vendors who conduct sales via the Internet, under many circumstances, are not required by law to collect existing sales and use taxes imposed by the states and local governments in which the purchaser resides; and WHEREAS, current laws create a competitive disadvantage and great inequities between merchants who sell from brick and mortar establishments and those who sell from electronic stores; and WHEREAS, approximately one-third of the City's revenue comes from the State, and a substantial amount of the State's revenue comes from sales and use taxes; and WHEREAS, this migration of sales and the resulting erosion of sales and use tax revenues is restricting the ability of state and local governments and school districts to collect taxes which finance essential public services including but not limited to police, fire, emergency medical service, infrastructure maintenance, and education; and WHEREAS, property taxes, while already regressive, are the main source of revenue for the City, and commercial properties constitute a significant portion of properties within the City; and WHEREAS, Brooklyn Center is an older, first-ring suburb that relies on tax dollars for redevelopment of residential and commercial areas to keep the city an attractive place to live and work; and WHEREAS, out-of-state sales have an adverse impact on local infrastructure and on the continued survival of the numerous retail businesses in our city; and WHEREAS, municipal governments have long expressed concern about the loss of municipal revenue due to out-of state sales (originally via mail order); and WHEREAS, these out-of-state vendors freely make a voluntary business decision to conduct their business electronically or from remote locations; and RESOLUTION NO. 00-31 WHEREAS, out-of-state vendors utilize some of the most advanced technology available to conduct their businesses, which equips them better than many local merchants to collect sales and use taxes; and WHEREAS, 99 percent of the goods and services purchased over the Internet are bought using credit cards and other electronic payment mechanisms which offers opportunities to collect existing taxes in non-discriminatory and efficient ways; and WHEREAS, there are vendors which offer sales and use tax compliance systems to companies who are obligated to collect sales and use taxes, and more would enter the field, if federal law required vendors to collect taxes due from their customers; and WHEREAS, the primary barrier to creating a non-discriminatory collection requirement is the Supreme Court's judgement that only Congress should determine that a collection requirement would not unduly burden interstate commerce; and WHEREAS, the federal government has created the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce to examine these issues. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, supports the joint statement of principles adopted by the National League of Cities in partnership with the other six national organizations representing state and local governments, which calls for: equal treatment of all sales transactions whether that transaction is done in person, on the telephone, by mail, or on the Internet, 2. a federal law authorizing state and local governments to require out-of-state vendors to collect and remit sales and use taxes, 3. protection from federal preemption of state and local authority to determine their own tax policies, and 4. cooperative efforts to simplify state and local sales and use tax systems and the compliance burdens those systems place on out-of-state vendors. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Brooklyn Center urges Senator Rod Grams, Senator Paul Wellstone, and Congressman Jim Ramstad support legislation authorizing state and local governments to require the collection of legally due sales and use taxes on goods and services sold into the state, remit remittance of those taxes to the purchasers' state, and to require states to distribute tax revenues to cities and towns pursuant to precedent and applicable state law. RESOLUTION NO. 00-31 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Brooklyn Center opposes any federal legislation which would preempt state and local authority to collect legally due sales and use tax on goods and services sold into the state. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Brooklyn Center supports joint efforts by the state and local public interest groups to develop fair and equitable sales and use tax collection strategies. February 14, 2000 Date ATTEST: J City Clerk Mayor Pro Tem The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by member Robert Pepps and upon vote being taken thereon, the following voted in favor thereof: Debra Hilstrom, Kay Lasman, F. GNelson, and Robert Peppe; and the following voted against the same: none; whereupon said resolution was declared duly passed and adopted.