Illinois state Senator Steven Rauschenberger is more optimistic. The biggest motivating factor for states is that they'll recognize soon that if they don't act to modernize their tax codes and make the system work, they may not have much of a system left to be concerned about. There is another way that the NGA plan tries to circumvent the Quill decision. The court said that states could not require remote sellers to collect sales or use taxes. But the NGA plan does not demand that merchants play in this elaborate system of trusted third parties.
Participation is voluntary.
By joining, businesses would be giving up sales. The least likely to join would be the pure e-commerce sellers. Under the current rules, ValueAmerica has nexus only in Virginia, where its headquarters are located. There are some retailers, however, who would be likely participants, according to Leavitt. The most promising are big national chain stores.