U.S. Rep. Womack: Internet sales tax reform may start in Senate

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, supports Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s call to remove sales tax exemptions on Internet sales and to use the proceeds for income tax relief in Arkansas.

Appearing on this week’s edition of Talk Business & Politics, Womack, who has long championed “Main Street Tax Fairness,” said his efforts are awaiting committee action in the House and it may be incumbent on the U.S. Senate to push forward on the issue.

“My guess is – and I’m only speculating – that it would probably come from the Senate first if it’s going to be done in this Congress. We’ll see in the next few weeks,” Womack said.

Womack, former mayor of Rogers, has pushed to remove the exemption for collecting sales taxes on Internet sales in order to level the playing field against local retailers who have to collect and remit sales tax. That difference allows online retailers to sell without charging sales tax, while Main Street merchants must add that to their cost of goods.

A week ago, Gov. Hutchinson said he hoped for federal action on this dilemma in order to accelerate his efforts to reduce personal income taxes for Arkansans.

“I support Gov. Hutchinson in his assertion that anything we can do to fix this loophole is good for our local retailers, it’s good for our cities, our counties, and our state budgets, and it will help us reduce the income tax burden on all Arkansans by taking the windfall – pursuant to the legislation passed by the Arkansas General Assembly – and give everybody a tax cut on their state income tax,” Womack said.

“I think you’ve got a win-win situation going on here. Help your local retailers, help your local governments, and at the same time give everybody a tax cut on the income tax,” he added.

CLINTON VS. TRUMP
Womack also weighed in on the state of the 2016 Presidential race. He commended Hillary Clinton earning the presumptive Democratic nomination, but said he would support Donald Trump despite his recent comments on race.

“I congratulate the former Secretary of State for breaking through kind of that glass ceiling. Obviously, we have our political differences and we’d like to see different outcomes in the November elections. But she should be congratulated for a distinguished career in serving her country and the November election should be an interesting outcome,” Womack said of Clinton.

“Like a lot of my colleagues, I have said early on that during the Presidential race that I would support the eventual nominee. That has not changed. I do think that despite some of the differences I might have with Mr. Trump – and we have a few – I do think the alternative is not in the best interest of our country. My hope is we can settle some of our differences and Mr. Trump’s rhetoric can be directed more towards the substantive issues facing our country,” Womack added.

When asked about Trump’s recent comments on the Mexican heritage of Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over the trial on alleged fraud surrounding Trump University, Womack said there’s no place for the divisive rhetoric in American politics. Womack’s district has a large Latino population – 16.2% in Benton and Washington counties, according to 2014 updated U.S. Census data.

“First of all, it really doesn’t make any difference whether a member of Congress represents an area with a significant population of minorities or not – it’s not who we are. I disagree with the content and I disagree with the demeanor in which Mr. Trump made those assertions about Judge Curiel,” Womack said.

Watch his full interview in the video below.