Bill will stop tax-free online purchases

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is expected to introduce a bill after tax day that would change how you buy stuff over the Internet. The bill is called the Main Street Fairness Act and it would make it so when you buy something from Amazon or elsewhere, you pay your state taxes.

From CNET:

“‘Why should out-of-state companies that sell their products online have an unfair advantage over Main Street bricks-and-mortar businesses?’ Durbin said in a speech in Collinsville, Ill., in February. ‘Out-of-state companies that aren’t paying their fair share of taxes are sticking Illinois residents and businesses with the tab.'”

Right now, that’s a pretty tall order, since most states have such wildly different tax laws. But, at least 24 states have said they’ll work to make their tax laws more uniform to make this whole thing less complicated.