Bruce Ely Quoted in Law360 Regarding Supreme Court “Amazon Tax” Ruling

Bruce Ely was quoted in a Law360 article entitled “Attorneys React To Supreme Court ‘Amazon Tax’ Ruling,” exploring the significance of the high court’s decision in Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl et al., ruling that the Tax Injunction Act does not bar a lawsuit brought by the Direct Marketing Association, a trade association of retailers. The suit challenges the enforcement of the Colorado “Amazon tax” law imposing reporting requirements on out-of-state online retailers’ Colorado-based purchases.

“I think the Supreme Court’s ruling [Tuesday] is absolutely correct. The Tenth Circuit went too far in applying the TIA and this latest ruling gives us state tax practitioners additional guidance. Perhaps the more notable aspect of the ruling, though, is Justice Thomas’ and the majority’s statements regarding ‘the significant loss of tax revenue’ suffered by the states due to the lack of a workable voluntary compliance system for Internet purchasers,” said Ely. “I’ll bet my old friend, Joe Huddleston [MTC executive director] was grinning like the Cheshire Cat as he read Justice Kennedy’s urgent call for the court to revisit and likely reverse Quill. I suspect that if the court grants cert. in another case involving Internet retailers and nexus, Quill is toast."

Read the complete collection of attorney reactions to the Supreme Court ruling in Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl et al.