According to Monica Langley, writing in the Wall Street Journal, more states seem to be moving toward collecting sales tax on online puchases, regardless of whether the online firms have a physical presence in those states. This has been a long-term goal of traditional store-based retailers — that want a more level playing field: “The move toward taxing online sales has broad implications. Online shopping will become more expensive for consumers. Brick-and-mortar retailers won’t have the price disadvantage they now have compared with online sellers. Strapped states suddenly could be flush with $23 billion in new annual revenue, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.”

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