By:  Chris C. Tackett, President/CEO

Wisconsin Merchants Federation

Governors Tommy Thompson, Scott McCallum, and Jim Doyle have fought for years to correct a serious problem for Wisconsin's main street merchants.  They have each proposed legislation to correct a court decision that favors out-of-state vendors over Wisconsin's main street merchants.  As a result of that U.S. Supreme Court decision, if you purchase a taxable item from a Wisconsin merchant, you pay sales tax.  If you purchase a similar item from an out-of-state vendor you pay no sales tax.  Technically, Wisconsin residents are supposed to pay the use tax when they file their income tax, but few do.

The "Main Street Equity Act" will put Wisconsin retailers on the same level with out of state sellers. Governor Doyle included it in the current state budget and the Senate passed it.  The Assembly removed it and now it is in the hands of the Budget Conference Committee.

One of the most overused legislature phrases in the Capitol is "give us a level playing field!" But in this case, "a level playing field" applies directly to every little league baseball field in Wisconsin.

Thousands of young boys and girls put on their little league uniforms every week in the summer in Wisconsin.  The signs on the fences and the sponsors name on their shirts are all local businesses.  I've attended numerous little league games and tournaments and not once have I seen the name Amazon.com or eBay or L.L. Bean or any "out-of-state" businesses on the dugouts, fences or backs of their uniforms.

Local businesses are the life blood of the little league.  They pay for building and maintaining the field and sponsoring teams.  They pay property taxes, collect sales taxes for Wisconsin and employ hundreds of thousands of people.  Their "out-of-state" competitors pay nothing in property taxes, collect no sales tax and employ not one Wisconsin citizen.  Yet, current law favors out-of-state vendors over Wisconsin businesses.

The Main Street Equity Act is not a tax increase.  The Act and companion legislation in Congress would require out-of-state vendors to collect existing taxes that are due under current law, but aren't being collected now.  Wisconsin will still retain the ability to decide what categories of goods will be taxed and what the state's sales tax rate will be.

The Internet has grown by leaps and bounds since the 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision to not tax out of state sales.  It's time legislation corrects this inequity.  The court decision is clearly behind the technical times.

Some opponents have said this proposal will stifle economic growth and hurt a young and growing industry, the Internet.  Nothing can be further from the truth.  In fact, this young industry accounted for over $20 billion in sales last year.

Wisconsin businesses deserve a level playing field.  The legislature should stop playing hard ball with little league and pass the Main Street Equity Act.

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