Multi-Industry Letter Supporting the Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act of 2011

Release Date:

Thursday, March 8, 2012

The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Congressional Leaders:

We, the undersigned, strongly support the “Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act of 2011” (S. 971/H.R. 1860), and urge you to pass this vital legislation. Our groups have come together to create the Download Fairness Coalition – a partnership of businesses, associations, non-profits, and consumers who have joined together to prevent multiple and discriminatory taxation of digital goods and services. The Download Fairness Coalition is promoting a simple solution to the complexities that surface with transactions conducted in today’s “borderless” digital economy. Given the explosion of digital commerce, Congress needs to act now to ensure that outdated state & local tax laws do not unduly burden and stifle the innovation, growth, and jobs that continue to emerge from this industry.

Digital commerce is sold over global networks without regard to state and local boundaries. Because of how these transactions are conducted, a single digital purchase (such as a downloadable song, book, or movie) has the potential to be taxed by several jurisdictions – adversely impacting both consumers and a growing segment of the U.S. economy. The “Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act of 2011” (S. 971/H.R. 1860) seeks to address that by establishing a national framework for how generally applicable state and local taxes can be imposed on digital goods and services, precluding multiple and discriminatory taxation of consumers participating in the digital economy.

Without a national framework, the opportunity for a consumer to be subject to taxes more than once on the same digital purchase by multiple jurisdictions is real. For example, if a Colorado resident uses the Wi-Fi at Virginia’s Dulles Airport to download movies from the Apple Store from servers located in Texas to her i-Pad – there is incredible uncertainty about which state, if any at all, has the right to tax her download, potentially putting her at risk for duplicative taxes being charged on the same transaction.

The only way to address this issue with the certainty needed for those operating in today’s “borderless” economy is through legislation enacted by Congress. The “Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act of 2011” (S. 971/H.R. 1860) accomplishes just that by clarifying states’ rights and ensuring consumers throughout our country are protected from uncertainty and duplicative taxes. We encourage you to pass this vital legislation.

Thank you for your consideration,

African-American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, Inc.
Americans for Tax Reform
Asian American Justice Center
Computer and Communications Industry Association
National Association of Neighborhoods
National Black Chamber of Commerce
National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
National Taxpayers Union
Newspaper Association of America
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
TechAmerica
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Read the Letter: