Mississippi is one of four states without a sales tax on third-party sales on the internet, but that could change if a bill that is headed to the Senate floor becomes law.
House Bill 379, known as the Mississippi Marketplace Facilitator Act, is sponsored by state Representative Trey Lamar and would require third-party sellers with sales of more than $250,000 — such as Amazon, Walmart, and Etsy — to collect the state’s 7 percent use tax on purchases.
HB 379 would allow the state to collect more revenue, as Amazon only collects use tax on items directly sold by it and not by marketplace affiliates, which account for almost half of its sales. If this bill becomes law, Amazon would collect and remit use tax on all purchases, even those by independent sellers.
In fiscal 2019, the state collected $420 million in use tax and that amounted to 5.02 percent of the state’s revenue haul.
In fiscal 2020 (which ends on June 30), the state has collected $290 million in use tax revenue so far, which adds up to 5.76 percent of all tax revenues collected by the DOR. While other tax revenues were down from the COVID-19 pandemic, use tax receipts are up more than $3 million as compared to the same time last year.
For more information: The Star-Herald
http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2020/pdf/history/HB/HB0379.xml
The Star-Herald
By: Steve Wilson
June 10, 2020
