Online Retailers Can Be Forced to Collect Tax, High Court Rules

  • Court votes 5-4 to overturn 1992 physical-presence requirement
  • Ruling frees states and local governments to collect billions
The U.S. Supreme Court rules states can collect sales tax from online retailers.Source: Bloomberg)
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The U.S. Supreme Court freed states and local governments to start collecting billions of dollars in new sales taxes from online retailers, overturning a ruling that had made much of the internet a tax-free zone and put traditional retailers at a disadvantage.

News of the ruling caused shares of Internet retailers including Amazon.com Inc. and Wayfair Inc. to fall.