Scott calls for simpler standards
The Virginian-Pilot & The Ledger-Star
11 February 2008
U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-3rd District, joined a pair of colleagues from western Virginia last week to co-sponsor a bill the lawmakers said will simplify the way small firms are taxed on business done out of state.
In a news release, Scott's office said that differences among "business activity taxes" levied by some states are a burden on firms that sell goods or services in those states but do not have any physical presence. In some cases, the levies have discouraged businesses from moving into out-of-state markets, Scott added.
"The standards by which a business is required to pay a business activity tax vary so widely in various states that the economic cost of paying these out-of-state taxes and battling these taxes in court are skyrocketing," Scott said. The bill would set a uniform standard for how states should levy the taxes.