I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1933 

To prohibit States from retroactively imposing a sales tax collection duty 

on a remote seller, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 27, 2019 

Mr. SENSENBRENNER (for himself, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. DUNCAN, Ms. LOFGREN, 

and Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To prohibit States from retroactively imposing a sales tax 

collection duty on a remote seller, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Online Sales Simplicity 

5 and Small Business Relief Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RETROACTIVITY BAN AND ORDERLY PHASE-IN OF 

7 COMPLIANCE OBLIGATIONS. 

8 A State may impose a sales tax collection duty on 

9 a remote seller only for a sale that occurs after January 

10 1, 2019. 


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1 SEC. 3. SMALL BUSINESS REMOTE SELLER EXEMPTION. 

2 In the case of a sale made by a small business remote 

3 seller, no State may impose a sales tax collection duty on 

4 any person other than the purchaser if the sale is made 

5 on or after June 21, 2018, and before the date that is 

6 30 days after the date on which the States develop and 

7 Congress approves an interstate compact, applicable to the 

8 State and sale, governing the imposition of tax collection 

9 duties on remote sellers. 

10 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

11 It is the sense of Congress that the States should de12 velop an interstate compact for the collection of sales tax 

13 by remote sellers that identifies a clearly defined minimum 

14 substantial nexus between the remote seller and the taxing 

15 State, that simplifies registration, collection, remittance, 

16 auditing, and other compliance processes to the greatest 

17 extent possible in order to avoid undue burdens on inter18 state commerce, and that, due to such simplification, 

19 eliminates the need for the continuation of the small busi20 ness remote seller exemption under section 4. 

21 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) REMOTE SELLER.—The term ‘‘remote sell24 er’’ means a person without a physical presence in 

25 the State who makes a sale in the State. 

26 (2) PHYSICAL PRESENCE.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘physical presence’’ 

3 means, with respect to a person, that a person’s 

4 business activities in the State include any of 

5 the following during such person’s taxable year: 

6 (i) Being an individual physically in 

7 the State, or assigning one or more em8 ployees to be in the State. 

9 (ii) Using the services of an agent (ex10 cluding an employee) to establish or main11 tain a market in the State, if such agent 

12 does not perform business services in the 

13 State for any other person during such 

14 taxable year. 

15 (iii) The leasing or owning of tangible 

16 personal property (other than digital or al17 phanumeric data) or of real property in the 

18 State. 

19 (B) EXCEPTION.—A person does not have 

20 physical presence in a State if the person’s 

21 physical presence in the State under subpara22 graph (A) was for less than 15 days in a tax23 able year (or a greater number of days if pro24 vided by State law), or if the person’s physical 

25 presence in the State was solely for the purpose 


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1 of conducting limited or transient business ac2 tivity. 

3 (3) SALES TAX COLLECTION DUTY.—The term 

4 ‘‘sales tax collection duty’’ means— 

5 (A) an obligation imposed on a person, in6 cluding a person other than the actual seller, 

7 to— 

8 (i) pay or collect a sales, use, or simi9 lar tax upon the sale of a good or service; 

10 or 

11 (ii) report any information with re12 spect to such sale of a good or service; or 

13 (B) the assessment of a sales, use or simi14 lar tax on a person. 

15 (4) SMALL BUSINESS REMOTE SELLER.—The 

16 term ‘‘small business remote seller’’ means a remote 

17 seller with gross annual receipts in the United 

18 States during the preceding calendar year in an 

19 amount that is not more than $10,000,000. 

Æ 


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