The U.S. Senate has moved toward a vote to impose sales tax on most Internet purchases, with lawmakers likely to vote to close debate on legislation next week.
On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, filed a cloture motion to end debate and move to a final vote on the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would allow states to collect sales tax on Internet sellers that have no presence within their borders.
The Senate is likely to pass the Internet sales tax once it comes to the floor. Twenty-eight of 100 senators are co-sponsors of the bill, and in late March, senators voted 75-24 for a nonbinding resolution to allow the Senate Budget Committee to include the sales tax in the U.S. budget.
Reid’s move would allow the bill to move forward on an expedited schedule by skipping hearings. Supporters of the Marketplace Fairness Act have been trying for years to get a bill passed in Congress.
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