I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5660 
To promote simplification and fairness in the administration and collection 
of sales and use taxes, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 1, 2010 
Mr. DELAHUNT (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CAPUANO, Ms. HERSETH 
SANDLIN, and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To promote simplification and fairness in the administration 
and collection of sales and use taxes, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Main Street Fairness Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Consent of Congress. 
Sec. 3. Findings. 
Sec. 4. Authorization to require collection of sales and use taxes. 
Sec. 5. Tribal governments. 
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Sec. 6. Determinations by governing board and judicial review of such deter-
minations. 
Sec. 7. Minimum simplification requirements. 
Sec. 8. Limitation. 
Sec. 9. Expedited judicial review. 
Sec. 10. Definitions. 
Sec. 11. Sense of Congress on digital goods and services. 
SEC. 2. CONSENT OF CONGRESS. 
Congress consents to the Streamlined Sales and Use 
Tax Agreement. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) States should be encouraged to simplify 
their sales and use tax systems. 
(2) As a matter of economic policy and basic 
fairness, similar sales transactions should be treated 
equally, without regard to the manner in which sales 
are transacted, whether in person, through the mail, 
over the telephone, on the Internet, or by other 
means. 
(3) Congress may facilitate such equal taxation 
consistent with the United States Supreme Court’s 
decision in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota. 
(4) States that voluntarily and adequately sim-
plify their tax systems should be authorized to cor-
rect the present inequities in taxation through re-
quiring sellers to collect taxes on sales of goods or 
services delivered in-state, without regard to the lo-
cation of the seller. 
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(5) The States have experience, expertise, and 
a vital interest in the collection of sales and use 
taxes, and thus should take the lead in developing 
and implementing sales and use tax collection sys-
tems that are fair, efficient, and non-discriminatory 
in their application and that will simplify the process 
for both sellers and buyers. 
(6) Online consumer privacy is of paramount 
importance to the growth of electronic commerce 
and must be protected. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION TO REQUIRE COLLECTION OF 
SALES AND USE TAXES. 
(a) GRANT OF AUTHORITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Member State under 
the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement is 
authorized, subject to the requirements of this sec-
tion, to require all sellers not qualifying for the 
small seller exception to collect and remit sales and 
use taxes with respect to remote sales sourced to 
that Member State under the Agreement. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTHORITY.—The au-
thorization provided under paragraph (1) shall be 
granted once all of the following have occurred: 
(A) Ten States comprising at least 20 per-
cent of the total population of all States impos-
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ing a sales tax, as determined by the most re-
cent Federal census, have petitioned for mem-
bership and have become Member States under 
the Agreement. 
(B) The following necessary operational as-
pects of the Agreement have been implemented 
by the Governing Board: 
(i) Provider and system certification. 
(ii) Setting of monetary allowance by 
contract with providers. 
(iii) Implementation of an online 
multistate registration system. 
(iv) Adoption of a standard form for 
claiming exemptions electronically. 
(v) Establishment of advisory coun-
cils. 
(vi) Promulgation of rules and proce-
dures for dispute resolution. 
(vii) Promulgation of rules and proce-
dures for audits. 
(viii) Provisions for funding and staff-
ing the Governing Board. 
(C) Each Member State has met the re-
quirements to provide and maintain the data-
bases and the taxability matrix described in the 
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Agreement, pursuant to requirements of the 
Governing Board. 
(3) LIMITATION OF AUTHORITY.—The author-
ization provided under paragraph (1)— 
(A) shall be granted notwithstanding any 
other provision of law; and 
(B) is dependent upon the Agreement, as 
amended, meeting the minimum simplification 
requirements of section 7. 
(b) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The authorization provided 
under subsection (a) shall terminate for all States 
if— 
(A) the requirements contained in sub-
section (a) cease to be satisfied; or 
(B) any amendment adopted to the Agree-
ment after the date of the enactment of this 
Act is— 
(i) not within the scope of the admin-
istration of sales and use taxes by the 
Member States; or 
(ii) inconsistent with the provisions of 
this Act. 
(2) LOSS OF MEMBER STATE STATUS.—The au-
thorization provided under subsection (a) shall ter-
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minate for a Member State, if such Member State 
no longer meets the requirements for Member State 
status under the terms of the Agreement or the pro-
visions of this Act. 
(c) DETERMINATION OF STATUS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Governing Board shall 
determine if Member States are in compliance with 
the requirements of subsections (a) and (b) and 
whether each Member State meets the minimum 
simplification requirements of section 7, and shall 
reevaluate such determination on an annual basis. 
(2) COMPLIANCE DETERMINATION.—Upon the 
determination of the Governing Board that all the 
requirements of subsection (a) have been satisfied, 
the authority to require a seller to collect and remit 
sales and use taxes shall commence on the first day 
of a calendar quarter at least 6 months after the 
date the Governing Board makes its determination. 
(3) NONCOMPLIANCE DETERMINATION.—Upon 
a final determination by the Governing Board that 
a Member State is not in compliance with the min-
imum simplification requirements of section 7 or is 
otherwise not in compliance with the Agreement, 
that Member State shall lose its remote seller collec-
tion authority on the earlier of— 
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(A) the date specified by the Governing 
Board; or 
(B) the later of— 
(i) the first day of January at least 2 
years after the Governing Board finally de-
termined the State was not compliant; or 
(ii) the first day of a calendar quarter 
following the end of one full session of the 
State’s legislature beginning after the Gov-
erning Board finally determined the State 
was not compliant. 
For purposes of this section, the terms ‘‘final 
determination’’ or ‘‘finally determined’’ shall 
mean that all appeals processes provided for in 
the Agreement have been exhausted or the time 
for pursuing such appeals has expired. An ac-
tion before the Federal Court of Claims pursu-
ant to section 6 shall not operate to stay a 
State’s loss of collection authority. 
(4) RESTORATION OF AUTHORITY.—Any Mem-
ber State that loses its collection authority under 
this section must comply with all provisions of this 
section to have its remote seller collection authority 
restored. 
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SEC. 5. TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS. 
(a) STATUS AS MEMBER STATE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any federally recognized In-
dian tribe that imposes a generally applicable sales 
tax may, if such tribe complies with the terms of 
this Act— 
(A) petition to become a Member State 
under the Agreement; and 
(B) if granted Member State status pursu-
ant to paragraph (2), exercise the authority 
provided under section 4. 
(2) DECISION OF THE GOVERNING BOARD.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—If the effect of any fed-
erally recognized Indian tribe’s laws, rules, reg-
ulations, and policies is compliant with each of 
the terms of the Agreement, and the Indian 
tribe has entered into an agreement with the 
primary State where such tribe is located, the 
Governing Board shall consider such tribe for 
admission as a Member State to the Agreement 
on the same basis as States. 
(B) 
NO
STATE-TRIBAL
AGREEMENT 
PRESENT.—If a petitioning Indian tribe and the 
primary State in which such tribe is located 
have attempted to negotiate, but have not 
reached, an agreement as described in subpara-
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(2) affecting existing tax agreements between 
Indian tribal governments and States; 
(3) preventing Indian tribal governments and 
States from entering into bilateral agreements for 
the collection and allocation of sales taxes (whether 
or not such bodies are admitted as Member States 
to the Agreement); or 
(4) overriding established principles of Federal 
law governing— 
(A) the taxing jurisdiction of Indian tribal 
governments; and 
(B) the immunities of Indian tribal govern-
ments and their members from State taxation 
with respect to on-reservation transactions. 
SEC. 6. DETERMINATIONS BY GOVERNING BOARD AND JU-
DICIAL REVIEW OF SUCH DETERMINATIONS. 
(a) PETITION.—At any time after the Governing 
Board has made the determinations required under section 
4(c), any person who may be affected by the Agreement 
may petition the Governing Board for a determination on 
any issue related to the implementation of the Agreement 
or on a Member State’s compliance with this Act or the 
Agreement. 
(b) REVIEW IN COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS.—Any 
person who submits a petition under subsection (a) may 
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60 days after the denial of the petition by the Governing 
Board, or, if the Governing Board fails to act on the peti-
tion, not later than 60 days after the end of the 6-month 
period beginning on the day after the date on which the 
petition was submitted. 
(d) STANDARD OF REVIEW.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—In any action for review 
under this section, the court shall set aside the ac-
tions, findings, and conclusions of the Governing 
Board found to be arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of 
discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law. 
(2) REMAND.—If the court sets aside any ac-
tion, finding, or conclusion of the Governing Board 
under paragraph (1), the court shall remand the 
case to the Governing Board for further action con-
sistent with the decision of the court. 
(3) NONMONETARY
RELIEF.—In connection 
with any remand under paragraph (2), the court 
may not award monetary relief, but may award de-
claratory and injunctive relief. 
(e) JURISDICTION.— 
(1) GENERALLY.—Chapter 91 of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
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‘‘SEC. 1510. JURISDICTION REGARDING THE STREAMLINED 
SALES AND USE TAX AGREEMENT. 
‘‘The United States Court of Federal Claims shall 
have exclusive jurisdiction over actions for judicial review 
of determinations of the Governing Board of the Stream-
lined Sales and Use Tax Agreement under the terms and 
conditions provided in section 6 of the Main Street Fair-
ness Act.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO TABLE OF 
SECTIONS.—The table of sections for chapter 91 of 
title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new item: 
‘‘1510. Jurisdiction regarding the streamlined sales and use tax agreement.’’. 
SEC. 7. MINIMUM SIMPLIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The minimum simplification re-
quirements for the Agreement are as follows: 
(1) A centralized, one-stop, multistate registra-
tion system that a seller may elect to use to register 
with the Member States, provided a seller may also 
elect to register directly with a Member State, and 
further provided that privacy and confidentiality 
controls shall be placed on the multistate registra-
tion system so that it may not be used for any pur-
pose other than the administration of sales and use 
taxes. Furthermore, no taxing authority within a 
Member State or a Member State that has with-
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drawn or been expelled from the Agreement may use 
registration with the centralized registration system 
for the purpose of, or as a factor in determining, 
whether a seller has a nexus with that Member State 
for any tax at any time. 
(2) Uniform definitions of products and prod-
uct-based exemptions from which a Member State 
may choose its individual tax base, provided, how-
ever, that all local jurisdictions in that Member 
State with respect to which a tax is imposed or col-
lected, shall have a common tax base identical to the 
State tax base of that Member State. A Member 
State may enact product-based exemptions without 
restriction if the Agreement does not have a defini-
tion for the product or for a term that includes the 
product. A Member State shall relax the good faith 
requirement for acceptance of exemption certificates 
in accordance with section 317 of the Agreement, as 
in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(3) Uniform rules for sourcing and attributing 
transactions to particular taxing jurisdictions. 
(4) Uniform procedures for the certification of 
service providers and software on which a seller may 
elect to rely in order to determine Member State 
sales and use tax rates and taxability. 
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(5) Uniform rules for bad debts and rounding. 
(6) Uniform requirements for tax returns and 
remittances. 
(7) Consistent electronic filing and remittance 
methods. 
(8) Single, State-level administration of all 
Member State and local sales and use taxes, includ-
ing a requirement for a State-level filing of tax re-
turns in each Member State. 
(9) A single sales and use tax rate per taxing 
jurisdiction, except as provided in section 308 of the 
Agreement. 
(10) A provision requiring the elimination by 
each Member State of caps and thresholds on the 
application of sales and use tax rates and exemp-
tions based on value, provided that this limitation 
does not apply to the items identified in sections 
308C, 322, and 323 of the Agreement, as in effect 
on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(11) A provision requiring each Member State 
to complete a taxability matrix, as adopted by the 
Governing Board. The matrix shall include informa-
tion regarding terms defined by the Agreement in 
the Library of Definitions. The matrix shall also in-
clude, pursuant to the requirements of the Gov-
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erning Board, information on use-, entity-, and 
product-based exemptions. 
(12) A provision requiring that each Member 
State relieves a seller or service provider from liabil-
ity to that Member State and local jurisdiction for 
collection of the incorrect amount of sales or use tax, 
and relieves the purchaser from penalties stemming 
from such liability, provided that collection of the 
improper amount is the result of relying on informa-
tion provided by that Member State regarding tax 
rates, boundaries, or taxing jurisdiction assignments, 
or in the taxability matrix regarding terms defined 
by the Agreement in the Library of Definitions. 
(13) Audit procedures for sellers, including an 
option under which a seller not qualifying for the 
small business exception may request, by notifying 
the Governing Board, to be subject to a single audit 
on behalf of all Member States for sales and use 
taxes. The Governing Board, in its discretion, may 
authorize such a single audit. 
(14) Effective on the date authority to require 
collection commences under section 4, each Member 
State shall provide reasonable compensation for ex-
penses incurred by all sellers in administering, col-
lecting, and remitting sales and use taxes (other 
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