The National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Association of Counties, National Governors Association, and National Conference of State Legislatures are supporting the Remote Transactions Parity Act (RTPA), introduced on Monday, June 15.

National League of Cities President Ralph Becker, mayor, Salt Lake City, Utah, issued the following statement:   

“We applaud and support the legislation introduced today by Representative Chaffetz that will level the playing field between brick and mortar retailers and their online counterparts. It’s about fairness. The bill doesn’t raise any new taxes — it simply enables cities to collect sales taxes that are already owed. We call on the House to move swiftly and pass the bill this year because our cities and local businesses can’t afford to wait.”

The National Governors Association stressed the need to level the playing field for Main Street and e-street retailers instead of picking winners or losers in a 21st century economy: 

“The nation’s governors have long called for the authority to modernize their sales tax systems and collect the taxes already owed to their states.

“This is an issue that must be solved before Congress takes up any other state tax issues. NGA will continue to work with the House to pass legislation this year.” 

Local governments are encouraged to contact their representatives to reinforce the importance of passing legislation that allows governments to collect the sales taxes that are already owed.  

The bipartisan RTPA bill was introduced in the House by Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz. 

In November 2014, ICMA and the other Big 7 national associations released a joint letter urging Congress to take action to enact marketplace fairness legislation.