Research On American Electronic Commerce Taxation Under The Vision Of Tax Fairness

In May 2013, the United States senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, this news caused quite a stir in the e-commerce field of the United States. Before the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 enacted, the U.S. government?s attitude to the tax on e-commerce attitude had been cautious. Because the Supreme Court applied the due process clause and the commerce clause in cases and create the "substantial nexus" to limit states for taxing e-commerce. In terms of statute law, the U.S. government has implemented tax free policy to encourage the development of electronic commerce. But in the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, the law awarded the state legislative power to tax the electronic commerce on the one hand. On the other hand, it unifies and simplifies the state?s tax system to provide e-commerce tax system feasibility. It seems to open the prelude of e-commerce taxation. Although today, the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 did not duly enact into law, its influence on the development of American e-commerce tax system has not dissipate. When The U.S. Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy commented on Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl, he pointed out that a retailer doing extensive business within a state had a sufficiently ?substantial nexus? to justify imposing some minor tax-collection duty. Not only that, but he also argues that the federal government tax losses which the early Quill case caused are far more than the reasonable expectations. Therefore, the federal Supreme Court also tends to re-examine the current e-commerce taxation system in a more broad perspective. China’s e-commerce is still under development, but this does not mean that the electronic commerce tax is far from our country. To save for a rainy day, analysis of extraterritorial experience in time is the best choice. This article bases on the perspective of tax fairness to analyze the electronic commerce taxation system of the United States. It refers and reflects the extraterritorial experience and put forward useful suggestions for the construction of e-commerce taxation system in China.This article mainly divides into six parts. The first part is the introduction. The second part systemizes the development of the theory of tax fairness mainly from the perspective of western economics and law and it also explore the content of tax fairness theory under the e-commerce environment.The third part mainly introduces the formation and development of electronic commerce taxation system in the United States. It uses case analysis method to introduce the constitutional barrier which limits the development of electronic commerce taxation system. It also introduces the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 and the state legislation practice whose purpose is to break through the constitutional barrier.The fourth part is the analysis of American e-commerce taxation system. It analyzes the problems existing in the electronic commerce tax system and what is worthy of reference, respectively from the fairness of taxpayers’ rights and obligations, the fairness of tax jurisdiction distribution, the tax fairness of the economy and society.The fifth part mainly bases on the problems of electronic commerce taxation system construction and draw lessons from the reasonable parts of American e-commerce taxation system. It puts forward reasonable suggestions for the construction of e-commerce taxation system in China.The sixth part is the conclusion, to summarize the full text, and expounds the deficiency of this study.