Online sales taxes may not be helping cities

MAIN ST. VS. AMAZON, CHAP. MCMXXIV: A 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturned the ban on governments taxing online sales. But more than a year later, the bump that some states are seeing through collecting these taxes aren’t likely to trickle down to cities.States saw a 7 percent bump in sales tax revenue between June and September of this year over the corresponding period in 2018, according to data compiled by the Urban Institute’s State and Local Finance Initiative. But CityLab reports that, locally, it’s a different story. In fact, some say that after taking retail downsizing and job losses into account, the arrival of online sales taxes will have a negative overall impact on city tax revenues.

Greg Brooks

Greg Brooks

Greg Brooks is the founder and president of the Better Cities Project. He previously led public affairs for the Los Angeles-based Reason Foundation, public relations for the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute, and national outreach efforts for several other groups.

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