{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/heidi-in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=FC89A372-A8D9-4493-9D2B-FD48BA44EC0B", "Bismarck Tribune: ND retailers eyeing potential online tax law change", "2017-11-07", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Jessica Holdman \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\r\nNorth Dakota will be ready to collect taxes from online retailers should federal law changes be made.\r\n\r\n\r\nSouth Dakota is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether retailers can be required to collect sales taxes in states where they lack a physical presence, according to the Associated Press. Thirty-five state attorneys general, including North Dakota\u2019s, and the District of Columbia this week signed on to support South Dakota's legal bid.\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201cThe big thing for me personally is big items,\u201d said Jeff Hinz, who owns Ace Hardware in Bismarck.\r\n\r\n\r\nHinz said often customers will threaten to buy large items, such as snow blowers, online if he doesn\u2019t agree to offer a discount.\r\n\r\n\r\nBut retailers without a physical presence in the state have a price advantage over brick and mortar businesses of up to 8.5 percent, according to Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., who also joined a number of lawmakers in urging the court to consider the issue and who has introduced a number of bills trying to change the law legislatively.\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201cWhen these retailers can charge lower prices, our small businesses and jobs are at risk,\u201d Heitkamp and the other lawmakers wrote.\r\n\r\n\r\nAccording to the state\u2019s most recent study, the North Dakota Tax Commissioner\u2019s office estimates $25 million to $30 million was not collected in 2012 because online retailers were not required to collect. Online purchases since 2012 have increased by as much as 50 percent, so North Dakota Retail Association President Mike Rud estimates more recent losses at $30 million to $40 million.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nHinz said it doesn\u2019t seem fair because online retailers still use North Dakota\u2019s roads to ship their items but they don\u2019t help cover the tax burden associated with maintaining them.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201cUPS, the postal service and Fedex are their brick and mortar,\u201d Hinz said.\r\n\r\n\r\nAnd even though online retail giant Amazon collect sales tax for the items it sells, third-party vendors that use the site to sell are not required to do so by the company.\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201cThe point is just for a level playing field for all our retailers,\u201d Rud said. \u201cWe don\u2019t care about competing with them, but we don\u2019t want to have such a big disadvantage.\u201d\r\n\r\n\r\nRud said during the latest legislative session, North Dakota, as well as about 15 other states, passed a law that will allow the state tax department to immediately force sales tax collections from online retailers once a court decision or national law is passed.\r\n\r\n\r\nRud called the state law critical, \u201cbecause now we\u2019re ready as soon as the case is heard by the Supreme Court.\u201d\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201cThis is a pretty serious issue and everyone is becoming quite aware something needs to be done here,\u201d said Rud, adding they are hoping for a decision or a law change within the next year.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/heidi-in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=FC89A372-A8D9-4493-9D2B-FD48BA44EC0B"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.9436529837548733, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}