[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5893 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5893

     To regulate certain State impositions on interstate commerce.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 14, 2016

Mr. Sensenbrenner introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To regulate certain State impositions on interstate commerce.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``No Regulation Without Representation 
Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. MINIMUM JURISDICTIONAL STANDARDS FOR STATE AND LOCAL SALES AND 
              USE TAX COLLECTION.

    (a) In General.--A State may--
            (1) impose an obligation on a person for--
                    (A) the collection of a sales, use, or similar tax, 
                or
                    (B) the reporting of any information with respect 
                thereto, on a person,
            (2) assess a sales, use or similar tax on a person, or
            (3) treat a person as doing business in a State for 
        purposes of such a tax,
only if such person had a physical presence in the State during the 
calendar quarter with respect to which the obligation or assessment is 
imposed.
    (b) Requirements for Physical Presence.--
            (1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (a), a person 
        has a physical presence in a State only if such person's 
        business activities in the State include any of the following 
        during the calendar year--
                    (A) owns, holds a leasehold interest in, or 
                maintains real property such as a retail store, 
                warehouse, distribution center, manufacturing 
                operation, or assembly facility in the State;
                    (B) leases or owns tangible personal property 
                (other than computer software) of more than de minimis 
                value in the State;
                    (C) has one or more employees, agents or 
                independent contractors present in the State who engage 
                in specific solicitations toward obtaining product or 
                service orders from customers in that State, or 
                prospective customers in that State, on behalf of the 
                person;
                    (D) has one or more employees or independent 
                contractors present in the State who provide on-site 
                design, installation, or repair services on behalf of 
                the remote seller; or
                    (E) maintains an office in the State at which it 
                regularly employs three or more employees for any 
                purpose.
            (2) De minimis physical presence.--For purposes of this 
        section, the term ``physical presence'' shall not include--
                    (A) entering into an agreement under which a 
                person, for a commission or other consideration, 
                directly or indirectly refers potential purchasers to a 
                person outside the State, whether by an Internet-based 
                link or platform, Internet Web site or otherwise;
                    (B) any presence in a State, as described in 
                section 2(b)(1), for less than 15 days in a taxable 
                year (or a greater number of days if provided by State 
                law);
                    (C) delivery and product placement services offered 
                by an interstate or in-State common carrier; and
                    (D) Internet advertising services provided by in-
                State residents which are not exclusively directed 
                towards, or do not solicit exclusively, in-State 
                customers.
    (c) Protection of Non-Sellers.--A State may not impose a sales or 
use tax collection obligation, or an obligation to report any 
information with respect thereto, on a person or assess a sales, use or 
similar tax on any person other than a purchaser or a seller having a 
physical presence in the State.

SEC. 3. DISPUTE RESOLUTION.

    The district courts of the United States shall have original 
jurisdiction over civil actions to enforce the provisions of this Act, 
including authority to issue declaratory judgments pursuant to section 
2201 of title 28, United States Code, and, notwithstanding the 
provisions of section 1341 of such title, injunctive relief, as 
necessary to carry out this Act.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS AND EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) Definitions.--For purposes of this Act:
            (1) Marketplace provider.--The term ``marketplace 
        provider'' includes any person, other than a seller, who 
        facilitates a sale. For purposes of this subsection, a person 
        facilitates a sale when the person both--
                    (A) lists or advertises tangible personal property 
                and services for sale in any forum, including a catalog 
                or Internet Web site; and
                    (B) either directly or indirectly through 
                agreements or arrangements with third parties, collects 
                gross receipts from the customer and transmits those 
                receipts to the marketplace seller, whether or not such 
                person deducts any fees from the transmission of those 
                receipts to the marketplace seller.
            (2) Marketplace seller.--The term ``marketplace seller'' 
        means a person that has any sales facilitated by a marketplace 
        provider.
            (3) Referrer.--The term ``referrer'' shall mean every 
        person who--
                    (A) contracts or otherwise agrees with a seller to 
                list multiple items of tangible personal property and 
                services for sale and the sales prices thereof in any 
                forum, including a catalog or Internet Web site;
                    (B) receives a fee, commission, or other 
                consideration from a seller for the listing;
                    (C) transfers, via telephone, Internet link, or 
                otherwise, a customer to the seller or the seller's Web 
                site to complete a purchase; and
                    (D) does not collect receipts from the customer for 
                the transaction.
            (4) Person.--The term ``person'' has the meaning given such 
        term by section 1 of title 1 of the United States Code. Each 
        corporation that is a member of a group of affiliated 
        corporations, whether unitary or not, is itself a separate 
        ``person''.
            (5) Seller.--The term ``seller'' does not include--
                    (A) any marketplace provider;
                    (B) any referrer;
                    (C) any carrier, in which the seller does not have 
                an ownership interest, providing transportation or 
                delivery services with respect to tangible personal 
                property; and
                    (D) any credit card issuer, transaction or billing 
                processor, or other financial intermediary.
            (6) Similar tax.--The term ``similar tax'' means a tax that 
        is imposed with respect to the sale or use of a product or 
        service, regardless whether the tax is imposed on the person 
        making the sale or the purchaser, with the right or obligation 
        of the person making the sale to obtain reimbursement for the 
        amount of the tax from the purchaser at the time of the 
        transaction.
            (7) State.--The term ``State'' means the several States, 
        the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
        Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other 
        territory or possession of the United States and includes the 
        State government or political subdivision entity responsible 
        for tax collection and audits.
    (b) Effective Date.--This Act shall apply with respect to calendar 
quarters beginning on or after January 1, 2017.
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