In South Dakota v. Wayfair, the Supreme Court ruled five to four that states may force online retailers to collect sales tax on online purchases.
Taxes were always supposed to be paid on these purchases, but it was the consumer’s responsibility to self-report and pay them on their own.
“The Supreme Court, when they wrote it up they said there is a de facto discount for buying online. There is no punishment for not collecting taxes,” said Colin Dalough, director of government affairs and business development for the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce.
While some online retailers were already collecting our state’s 6.25 percent tax, others were not. This ruling, along with Illinois law, means that now, only smaller online retailers with yearly Illinois revenues under $100,000 don’t have to collect.
“We felt it was important to basically level the playing field with the brick and mortar businesses that have invested in our community,” said Naperville City Manager Doug Krieger. “We certainly think it’s a step in the right direction from a fairness standpoint.”
The taxes Illinois collects in online purchases are distributed proportionally to towns based on population. With more being collected, Naperville should see a bump in revenue of about $350,000.
This ruling only applies the state’s tax to online purchases, so the 1.5 percent Naperville sales tax is not included.
Naperville News 17’s Blane Erwin reports.
