Arkansas House passes bill to make online sellers notify buyers of tax due

Online retailers such as Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. would have to send Arkansans a notice of how much sales tax they owe for their online purchases under legislation approved Tuesday by the House.

In addition to similar legislation passed by the Senate on Monday, House Bill 1388 is an attempt to recoup sales tax revenue that is now lost to a growing online sales industry, said the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Dan Douglas, R-Bentonville.

Amazon, one of the largest online retailers, applies sales tax to purchases made in 38 states, but Arkansas is not one of them. Douglas' bill would apply to all retailers operating outside the state.

Despite opponents labeling the bill a tax increase, the House passed the measure on a 54-to-26 vote.

Read more: http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2017/feb/08/house-passes-bill-to-make-net-sellers-n/?f=news-politics