I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6824 
To prohibit States from retroactively imposing a sales tax collection duty 
on a remote seller, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 13, 2018 
Mr. SENSENBRENNER (for himself, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. DUNCAN of South Caro-
lina, and Ms. LOFGREN) 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Online Sales Simplicity 
and Small Business Relief Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. BAN ON RETROACTIVE TAXATION OF INTERNET 
COMMERCE. 
A State may not impose a sales tax collection duty 
on a remote seller for any sale that occurred prior to June 
21, 2018. 
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SEC. 3. ORDERLY PHASE-IN OF COMPLIANCE OBLIGATIONS. 
A State may impose a sales tax collection duty on 
a remote seller only for a sale that occurs after January 
1, 2019. 
SEC. 4. SMALL BUSINESS REMOTE SELLER EXEMPTION. 
In the case of a sale made by a small business remote 
seller, no State may impose a sales tax collection duty on 
any person other than the purchaser if the sale is made 
on or after June 21, 2018, and before the date that is 
30 days after the date on which the States develop and 
Congress approves an interstate compact, applicable to the 
State and sale, governing the imposition of tax collection 
duties on remote sellers. 
SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that the States should de-
velop an interstate compact for the collection of sales tax 
by remote sellers that identifies a clearly defined minimum 
substantial nexus between the remote seller and the taxing 
State, that simplifies registration, collection, remittance, 
auditing, and other compliance processes to the greatest 
extent possible in order to avoid undue burdens on inter-
state commerce, and that, due to such simplification, 
eliminates the need for the continuation of the small busi-
ness remote seller exemption under section 4. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) REMOTE SELLER.—The term ‘‘remote sell-
er’’ means a person without a physical presence in 
the State who makes a sale in the State. 
(2) PHYSICAL PRESENCE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘physical presence’’ 
means, with respect to a person, that a person’s 
business activities in the State include any of 
the following during such person’s taxable year: 
(i) Being an individual physically in 
the State, or assigning one or more em-
ployees to be in the State. 
(ii) Using the services of an agent (ex-
cluding an employee) to establish or main-
tain a market in the State, if such agent 
does not perform business services in the 
State for any other person during such 
taxable year. 
(iii) The leasing or owning of tangible 
personal property (other than digital or al-
phanumeric data) or of real property in the 
State. 
(B) EXCEPTION.—A person does not have 
physical presence in a State if the person’s 
physical presence in the State under subpara-
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graph (A) was for less than 15 days in a tax-
able year (or a greater number of days if pro-
vided by State law), or if the person’s physical 
presence in the State was solely for the purpose 
of conducting limited or transient business ac-
tivity. 
(3) SALES TAX COLLECTION DUTY.—The term 
‘‘sales tax collection duty’’ means— 
(A) an obligation imposed on a person, in-
cluding a person other than the actual seller, 
to— 
(i) pay or collect a sales, use, or simi-
lar tax upon the sale of a good or service; 
or 
(ii) report any information with re-
spect to such sale of a good or service; or 
(B) the assessment of a sales, use or simi-
lar tax on a person. 
(4) SMALL BUSINESS REMOTE SELLER.—The 
term ‘‘small business remote seller’’ means a remote 
seller with gross annual receipts in the United 
States during the preceding calendar year in an 
amount that is not more than $10,000,000. 
Æ 
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