Sen. Ted Cruz Remarks on Internet Sales Tax Legislation
WASHNGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) today addressed the Senate floor to discuss his opposition to the Internet Sales Tax, misleadingly titled the “Marketplace Fairness Act.” Following are video of the address and excerpts of his remarks:
“During a time of economic challenge as we are in today, the very top priority of every elected official, whether Republican or Democrat, should be to restore economic growth, to get our economy moving, to get back to the economic dynamism, the economic strength that has lifted so many millions out of poverty and towards the American Dream.
“This bill, if enacted into law, would hurt economic growth and would be a mistake… It would subject small online retailers to paying taxes in 9,600 different jurisdictions all across this country. At a time when so many are hurting, we should be discussing how to reduce regulatory burdens on small business, how to reduce tax burdens on small businesses, how to reduce complexity of taxes on small businesses, this bill goes exactly the opposite direction. In particular, those who will be hurt the most by this bill if it is passed are small mom and pop retailers online.”
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“I think it is fundamentally unfair to ask a Texas business to collect taxes for California Governor Jerry Brown or for New York Mayor Bloomberg and a nanny state in particular because they can't hold those politicians accountable. They don't have a presence there, they don't vote there, they don't have influence there, yet they are being dragooned into collecting taxes. I think that's fundamentally not right.”
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“I believe the Senate should treat the Internet as a safe haven, that it should be treated as free from taxes and regulations that would hamper the entrepreneurial spirit, that would make it harder for the little guy, for small businesses to be created, to grow and thrive. When they become gigantic corporations they'll have physical presences in the state and then they're subject to the taxes but don't hit them when they're getting started on the Internet. I think it would be absolutely foolish to do anything to impinge on the entrepreneurial freedom of the Internet.
“In conclusion, I want to say three very simple things: Number one. In my judgment, we should not be taxing the Internet. Period. Number two. We should not be increasing the burdens on small businesses, particularly at a time of economic challenge. Period. And number three, Mr. President. We should not be favoring politicians and big business at the expense of the little guy, at the expense of the single mom trying to start a small business, to feed her kids, at the expense of the Hispanic immigrant trying to start a small business and work towards the American Dream.
“We should not be standing with politicians looking for more tax revenue and big businesses looking to make it harder for their competitors to survive. Instead, we should stand up with the little guy, the small business, with the American people. I would urge the Senate to reject this bill and if the Senate does pass it, I would urge the House to listen to the American people on this and reject the bill as well.”
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