{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=AC1A6671-76E7-4E50-8808-E040812B1821", "Heitkamp & Bipartisan Group Urge Supreme Court to Revisit Case Preventing States from Collecting Sales & Use Tax from Out-of-State Businesses like Online Vendors", "2017-11-02", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court urging the Court to reconsider and overturn a 25 year-old case determining whether states can require out-of-state businesses like online vendors to collect and remit state sales and use taxes.\r\nIn 1991, when Heitkamp was North Dakota\u2019s Tax Commissioner, the state of North Dakota attempted to make catalog retailers collect the sales and use tax the state and municipalities were already owed on sales. Heitkamp brought the case all the way to the Supreme Court, which in 1992 found in Quill Corp v. North Dakota that a business must have a physical presence in a state before it can be required to collect and remit state sales and use taxes. The Court also said that the U.S. Congress had the ultimate power to resolve the issue.\r\nSince then, the sharp increase in internet sales has sparked renewed interest from state and local governments in leveling the playing field for brick-and-mortar businesses and closing a gaping loophole in our tax system. While the members have put forward a legislative solution in the Marketplace Fairness Act, Congress has not come to an agreement to fix the loophole.\r\nJoining Heitkamp in filing the amicus brief are U.S. Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Lamar Alexander (R-TN), along with U.S. Representatives Kristi Noem (R-SD) and John Conyers (D-MI),\r\n\u201cSmall businesses in our states \u2013 and the workers who rely on them for jobs \u2013 have long been disadvantaged by out-of-state retailers and online vendors who aren\u2019t required to collect sales and use taxes,\u201d the members said. \u201cWhen these retailers can charge lower prices, our small businesses and jobs are at risk. The Supreme Court should re-visit and reverse its decision in Quill that tipped the scales in favor of online retailers and against brick and mortar businesses around the country, which lose close to $26 billion every year because of a misguided decision over two decades ago. It\u2019s past time to level the playing field for local shops across our communities.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\r\nRetailers without a physical presence have a price advantage over brick and mortar businesses of up to 8.5 percent in North Dakota, 9.75 percent in Tennessee, 11 percent in Illinois, and 6 percent in Wyoming simply because they cannot be required to collect those state taxes.\u00a0\r\nClick here to read the full text of the amicus brief.\r\nThe amicus brief \u2013 also called a \u201cfriend of the court\u201d brief that is filed by outside parties and is used to share additional information and arguments for the Court to consider \u2013 urges the Supreme Court to grant South Dakota\u2019s request for the Court to consider South Dakota v Wayfair, Inc.\u00a0This case seeks to overturn Quill, which prevents South Dakota and 44 other states from enforcing their own state sales and use tax laws.\u00a0\r\nOn April 27, Enzi, Durbin, Alexander, and Heitkamp introduced the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2017 \u2013 legislation that would give states the right to require out-of-state businesses or online retailers to collect and remit the sales and use taxes that are already owed under current law. In 2013, the Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act by a bipartisan vote of 69-27, but the legislation did not become law.\r\nNoem and Conyers introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives on April 27 \u2014 the Remote Transactions Parity Act \u2013 which has 49 bipartisan cosponsors and has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.\r\n###", 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/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=AC1A6671-76E7-4E50-8808-E040812B1821"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2156539596617222, "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"}