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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Did Florida pass a law enforcing collection of taxes on online purchases from out-of-state merchants?

By Stevie Rosignol-Cortez
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YES

Florida recently enacted a law enforcing collection of taxes due on online sales by out-of-state merchants, requiring sellers to collect the taxes at the time of a transaction. The move follows a 2018 Supreme Court ruling confirming that states could enforce sales-tax collection on transactions with sellers based in other states.

The measure is expected to cost Floridians an estimated $40-$50 annually, raising $1 billion of new revenue to rebuild the state’s depleted unemployment compensation fund. “To be clear, these taxes are owed already,” Jared Walczak, a Tax Foundation researcher, noted.

The timing of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signing of the bill, late at night and without the media attention sought for some more popular legislation, generated comment from the Republican governor’s political opponents.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Florida Senate Senate Bill 50, 2021
Tax Foundation Controversy erupts as Florida adopts uncontroversial tax provision
South Florida Sun-Sentinel What you should know about Florida’s new online sales tax law
National Conference of State Legislatures Remote sales tax collection
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.