Bill Would Let States Collect Online Sales Tax

A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate to allow states to collect sales taxes on online purchases, potential revenue that at least two states have directed to roads.

Virginia and Maryland tied their transportation funding plans to the anticipated sales tax revenue that has yet to materialize.

In 2013, the Senate passed an online sales tax bill, but the House did not.

Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Il.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) sponsored the bill introduced March 10.

The National Conference of State Legislatures has estimated that states are losing more than $23 billion per year in uncollected sales taxes on online purchases.