An effort to require large online retailers to collect sales taxes on items bought in Tennessee has been stripped out of a bill on the House floor.
The chamber voted 69-20 to remove the rule sought by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's administration to have retailers with sales of more than $500,000 per year remit the sales tax to state revenue collectors.
Under current law, consumers are responsible for paying the state any sales taxes owned for online purchases, but few people actually do. Retailers must only collect sales taxes if they have a physical presence in the state.
The decision to take the online sales tax rule out of the bill caused the measure to be sent back to the House Finance Committee for further consideration.
