Mike Enzi

States would have an easier time collecting sales taxes for online purchases under legislation to be unveiled on Thursday that represents a major step forward in political negotiations over more than $10 billion a year in uncollected taxes.Sen. Richard Durbin (D., Ill.) along with Sens. Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) and Mike Enzi (R., Wyo.) plan to join House Republican and Democratic counterparts to unveil the measure. For decades, states have been unable to force online stores to collect sales taxes because of a 1992 Supreme Court decision that found that merchants don't have to gather state sales taxes in states where they lack a physical presence. Taxpayers rarely self-report their online sales-tax obligations, leaving states unpaid.Mr. Durbin's office on Wednesday said the measure would be unveiled at 2:15 p.m. on Thursday, but didn't provide details, including over an exemption for online sales that fall below a certain threshold.Brick-and-mortar retailers complain that tax-free on...

Read More ›