Longmont Area Chamber Supports SB19-006 “Retail Sales Tax Simplification Bill”

This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

The Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce is supporting SB19-006, the “Retail Sales Tax Simplification Act."

SB19-006 would direct the state office of Information and Technology and the Department of Revenue to develop an electronic sales and use tax simplification system. The bill also requires the Colorado General Assembly to make necessary appropriations for funding and maintenance. SB19-006 was developed in response to a recent US Supreme Court Decision, Wayfair v South Dakota.

Wayfair v South Dakota overturns an earlier Supreme Court ruling, Quill v North Dakota, which stated that companies should have a physical presence in the state to collect and remit sales taxes. In the Wayfair decision, businesses need not have a physical presence for states to require the collection and remittance of sales and use taxes. The Colorado Department of Revenue will begin to enforce new rules, beginning May 31, 2019, to collect taxes from out of state retailers. Because Colorado is a “destination based sales tax” state instead of origin, retailers making deliveries outside their home taxing area must now navigate a complex system to figure out which retail sales tax to collect from the buyer.

“The Colorado Department of Revenue rules following the Wayfair v South Dakota decision are a top concern for our Chamber retailers that deliver goods outside of Longmont.” said Scott Cook, CEO for the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce.” He continued, “Without a statewide simplification system some of our retailers would have to absorb significant costs and spend an inordinate amount of time to comply or lose sales.”

Stacy Cornay with Communication Concepts and Chamber Policy and Special Projects consultant added, “We started to hear concerns from Chamber members late last year concerning this issue. We’ve been working since the beginning of the legislative session with our various Chamber partners in Denver and the Northwest Chamber Alliance to find a solution. SB6 doesn’t answer all the concerns we have, but the simplification system will help greatly.”

Currently, SB19-006 has passed both houses and awaits signature from Governor Jared Polis. The Longmont Chamber has sent communication to the Governor requesting his signature.