releases: https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=19BAADCA-A753-4289-AF8F-CBE710AB65D2
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
This data as json
| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=19BAADCA-A753-4289-AF8F-CBE710AB65D2 | After Decades-long Heitkamp Effort, North Dakota to Begin Collecting Sales Tax from Online and Out-of-State Vendors | 2018-09-26 | 2018 | 2018-09 | Democrat | House | ND | Heidi Heitkamp | H001069 | www.heitkamp.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON, D.C. Beginning Monday, October 1, North Dakota will begin to collect sales and use tax from online and out-of-state vendors, a huge victory for the state and small businesses that have been at a competitive disadvantage. The change comes as a result of a decades-long effort by Heitkamp to level the playing field for brick-and-mortar business in North Dakota. As North Dakota's Tax Commissioner, she brought Quill v North Dakota before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1992 in an effort to require catalog retailers to collect state sales and use taxes. The case was not decided favorably, but Heitkamp has been fighting to overturn that decision ever since. At Heitkamp's urging, the Supreme Court took up a new case to resolve the issue earlier this year, and in its decision in South Dakota vs Wayfair, Inc. in June, the Court finally overturned its decision in Quill. In additional to putting brick-and-mortar business on a level playing field with online vendors, the ruling will help increase state revenues, adding much needed resources that can support critical investments in education, infrastructure and other state projects. The state estimates that it could collect $50 million in additional revenue annually. In 2015 alone, the total uncollected sales and use taxes in the U.S. was nearly $26 billion. Retailers without a physical presence have a price advantage over brick-and-mortar businesses of up to 8.5 percent in North Dakota. After a long battle, this is a major victory to help level the playing field for the brick and mortar businesses our rural communities rely on, Heitkamp said. This effort was all about getting fairness for the Main Street businesses that are so important to our way of life. I started this fight as North Dakota's Tax Commissioner in 1992, and it's great news for our state to finally see the issue resolved in a way that will make small businesses more competitive and boost state revenue, which benefits every community. In Quill v North Dakota, Heitkamp fought to allow the state of North Dakota to make catalog retailers collect the sales and use taxes the state and municipalities were already owed. The court ruled against North Dakota, deciding 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. Since Quill was decided in 1992, the sharp increase in internet sales 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. Heitkamp attended oral arguments in Quill in 1992, and earlier this year attended oral arguments for Wayfair. Last November, Heitkamp led a bipartisan group of senators in submitting an amicus brief to the Court, urging the Court take up South Dakota v Wayfair, Inc. in an effort to overturn Quill v North Dakota. After the Court agreed to take up the case, Heitkamp led a bipartisan group of senators in filing a brief urging the Court to overturn its decision in Quill v North Dakota. Heitkamp also led a bipartisan legislative effort to settle the issue in congress. She helped introduce the Marketplace Fairness Act in 2013, one of the first bills she introduced as a senator.The legislation 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. The Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act in a bipartisan vote of 69-27, but the legislation was not taken up in the House of Representatives. Last year, Heitkamp and a bipartisan group of senators reintroduced the Marketplace Fairness Act, but Congress did not act, which is one of the reasons Heitkamp urged the Court to decide the issue. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |