 It remains to be seen if the tax, which Quinn calls Mainstreet
Fairness and others call the Amazon tax, will drive businesses out
of the state.The governor said in a statement Thursday afternoon
that the new tax, which applies only to online stores that do not
have a brick-and-mortar store in the state, is about fairness.
"This law will put Illinois-based businesses on a level playing
field," said Quinn.
But a handful of online affiliate businesses are already talking
about moving out of Illinois.
Rockford State Sen. Dave Syverson, a Republican, has a handful of
those businesses in his area. He said Quinn is willing to trade a
few new tax dollars for a lot of jobs.
"This is going to cost Illinois thousands of jobs," he said. "And
in the end it's not going to bring any new revenue in."
But there are a lot of other online outfits that are not looking
to leave. And online outlets for companies with stores in the state
will not be affected by the tax. David Vite with the Illinois Retail
Merchants Association said that should also make more money for the
state.
"The question isn't about if we have Internet sales," Vite said.
"The question is whether or not they're on the same footing as
brick-and-mortar retailers who are paying the property taxes, who
employ 590,000 people in this state."
[to top of second column] |
If you do shop online, the new tax means you're going to have to
be honest on your tax forms. Shoppers are already supposed to
voluntarily report online shopping, and now the state is going to
expect people to report their purchases and pay the tax.
The legislation is effective immediately.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By BENJAMIN YOUNT]
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