White House Joins Online Sales Tax Push

With some states already considering measures, the White House has joined a new push to force online retailers to collect sales tax.

FOX News Radio White House Correspondent Mike Majchrowitz reports from the West Wing:

Not paying sales taxes is one of the big attractions of buying online, but that would end under a Senate bill which just got the support of the White House.  Press Secretary Jay Carney calling it a matter of fairness.

(Carney) “And because these out-of-state companies are able to cut corners and play by a different set of rules, cities and states lose out on funding.”

Bill McClellan with the Electronic Retailers Assocation says this would force online retailers to purchase complicated software to track all the different tax rates.

(McClellan) “It’s going to put a number of smaller companies out of business, if I had to guess.  We think that’s a bad thing in the fragile economy that we have right now.”

McClellan says retailers would face lawsuits from consumers if they overcollect and from states if they undercollect.

At the White House, Mike Majchrowitz, FOX News Radio.