WA Small Business Owner Expresses Concern with Marketplace Fairness Act

November 24, 2014

Stan Carson small business owner in Wenatchee, Washington, recently penned a letter to the editor of the Seattle Times highlighting why the Marketplace Fairness Act requires closer consideration. “Paying taxes to other states is unfair because I do not receive any of the benefits of having a business in that state, such as schools, transportation, police and other public services”, wrote Carson. “Furthermore, the possibility of time-consuming and costly audits associated with taxation is extremely frightening. I only have 28 full-time employees and I simply do not have the bandwidth or resources to be audited by multiple out-of-state tax authorities.”

As currently written, the Marketplace Fairness Act would require all tech-enabled businesses selling over $1 million to essentially become a tax collector for 9,600 jurisdictions and 45 states nationwide. Carson praised House leadership for vowing to oppose efforts to move the bill during the remaining weeks of Congress. “As a small online business owner, I am thankful that leaders in Congress are taking a more thoughtful approach and taking additional time to analyze how the legislation would burden our nation’s entrepreneurs.”

To read Carson’s letter, please visit the Seattle Times