Anti-Wayfair Legislation Fails to Pass New Hampshire Legislature

The New Hampshire legislature ended their special session on July 25th without passing legislation intended to protect New Hampshire businesses from being forced to collect sales tax on out-of-state sales. New Hampshire is one of 5 states that do not have a general statewide sales tax and after the recent Supreme Court decision in Wayfair, New Hampshire businesses are faced with the prospect of being forced to collect sales tax on out-of-state sales to states where they do not have a physical presence. In response, the Governor of New Hampshire called for a special session to pass legislation, developed by a bipartisan task force, that would make it burdensome for other states to collect sales tax from New Hampshire businesses. The proposed legislation included provisions that would require other states to register with the New Hampshire attorney general’s office at least 120 days before they impose sales taxes against a remote seller based in the state or before they request customer information. In addition, the attorney general’s office would collect a fee from other states and evaluate whether out-of-state requests comply with New Hampshire and federal law. The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted to strip nearly all provisions from the proposed bill before the special session ended without passage of any legislation.