Internet sales tax | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Re "Internet sales tax fight moves to Senate floor" (Tribune, April 24)

I am all in favor of online shoppers having to pay local sales tax. Not so much for the revenue generated as for making the commercial playing field equal.

If we want to keep brick-and-mortar bookstores (and other stores), they need a fair chance at competing. Why give Amazon.com such a huge advantage?

If the proposed Marketplace Fairness Act does make it easy for mom-and-pop stores by giving them collection software and providing one place to send the tax money, then our senators should support Main Street stores by supporting this bill.

And enough of Sen. Orrin Hatch's whining about the bill just because it didn't go through his committee. It's time he grew up, became a senior statesman and took this saying of President Harry S Truman to heart: "It is amazing how much you can accomplish when it doesn't matter who gets the credit."

Matthew Gunther

Salt Lake City