The Aftermath of South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., Why Congress Needs to Prevent Undue Burdens on Remote Sellers

20 Wake Forest J. Bus. & Intell. Prop. L. 106

For over half a century, the Supreme Court of the United States has
considered the constitutionality of allowing states to tax “remote
sellers”—sellers that have no physical presence in the taxing state.1 In
Wayfair, the Supreme Court’s most recent decision relating to this
matter, the Court gave states the ability to enact varying sales tax laws.2
By giving states the ability to enact many alternate tax schemes, the
Court placed an undue burden on remote sellers.3 This comment
investigates the cases leading to the Wayfair decision and explores the
increasing number of remote sellers created by online retail. After
reviewing the history of remote sales tax in federal courts and the United
States generally, this comment suggests that Congress take action by
creating a federal agency to compute and remit sales tax for remote
sellers.