美国国家公共电台 NPR Supreme Court Ruling Means Some Online Purchases Will Cost More

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Online sales are about to start costing more. The Supreme¹ Court ruled today that states can force retailers³ to collect and remit⁴ sales taxes on out-of-state purchases. The 5-to-4 decision reverses decades-old decisions. Those rulings had protected out-of-state vendors⁶ from sales tax obligations unless the vendor⁵ had a physical presence in the state. NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg reports the decision could add billions to state coffers.

NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE⁷: The court's earlier decisions that were reversed today date back to a time when mail order sales were relatively⁸ small and online sales were all but non-existent. Writing for the five-justice majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said that in the modern economy, the rule linking tax collection to a physical presence in the state unconstitutionally deprives states of the ability to collect taxes and perform critical public functions. The decision was a victory for South Dakota, which, like some other states, has no income tax and relies on sales taxes to fund most of the state's services. Because of dramatic fall-offs in state sales tax collection, the state in 2016 enacted¹⁰ a law to test the physical presence rule. Three large online vendors, Wayfair, Newegg and Overstock, challenged the law in court and lost today.

MARTY JACKLEY: It's a great day for South Dakota and Main Street America.

TOTENBERG: Marty Jackley is South Dakota's attorney general.

JACKLEY: It's an additional, in the words of the Supreme Court, $48 to $58 million that South Dakota can use for education, health care and infrastructure¹¹. But it's much bigger than that. I think it's going to revive Main Street South Dakota and Main Street America.

TOTENBERG: South Dakota Senator Deb Peters, president of the National Conference of State Legislatures, noted¹² that small businesses have faced an uphill battle against out-of-state vendors who until now could charge lower prices because they didn't have to collect sales taxes. She points to a local shoe store for example.

DEB PETERS: The storefront on Main Street is paying property taxes in their local community. They're paying the person that's helping¹³ you try on the shoes, and, you know, they've got to pay for the inventory¹⁴.

TOTENBERG: But she said they lose a lot of sales because people know they can buy the same shoes online without paying taxes. While some online sellers recently have started collecting sales taxes, others like L.L. Bean do not. Amazon does collect on direct sales but not indirect sales. That's likely to change now. Twenty-four states have already agreed to a streamlined proposal for vendors collecting sales taxes. But some of the most populous¹⁵ states - New York, Texas and California - have until now refused to sign on and have far more complicated tax collection systems.

Congress, as the court acknowledged, could enact⁹ a broad-based law for state sales tax collection, but anti-tax groups and Republicans in Congress have bottled up such proposals. Today's victory for South Dakota would seem to flip¹⁶ the script with states less interested now in enacting¹⁷ some sort of national legislation and online vendors perhaps more interested. Stephanie Martz is general counsel for the National Retail² Federation¹⁸, which includes 18,000 businesses large and small.

STEPHANIE MARTZ: I think the chessboard just looks a lot different now.

TOTENBERG: But she added.

MARTZ: Now our members are going to be able to figure out how to construct their businesses without worrying about whether putting a distribution center on this side of a state line or that side of a state line will result in a different tax implication.

TOTENBERG: While the court made clear that the states do not have unlimited¹⁹ power to require a sales tax collection, as Carl Davis, research director of the Institute on Taxation²⁰ and Economic Policy, put it...

CARL DAVIS: The court blessed South Dakota's law.

TOTENBERG: That law specifically protects small businesses from collecting sales taxes if they have less than $100,000 or fewer than 200 sales in the state. The state provides sales tax collection software for free for any business that wants it. And most importantly, the state law does not permit sales tax collection for past purchases. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

3 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

4 remit   

v.汇款，汇寄；豁免（债务），免除（处罚等）

参考例句：

• I hope you'll remit me the money in time.我希望你能及时把钱汇寄给我。
• Many immigrants regularly remit money to their families.许多移民定期给他们的家人汇款。

5 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

6 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

9 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

10 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

11 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

14 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

15 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

16 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

17 enacting   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Generally these statutes apply only to wastes from reactors outside the enacting state. 总之，这些法令只适宜用在对付那些来自外州的核废料。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• In addition, the complexion of enacting standards for live working is described. 另外，介绍了带电作业标准的制订情况。

18 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

19 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

20 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。