FreedomWorks Applauds Tennessee Governor and State Lawmakers for Rejecting Online Sales Tax Hike

Washington, DC- FreedomWorks applauds the wise decision of the Tennessee State Legislature to reject SB 0529, legislation that would have increased taxes and put job growth and investment in jeopardy by forcing the online company Amazon to collect sales tax.  Stopping this over-reaching legislation will save nearly 3,000 full-time jobs and 4,000 seasonal jobs in Tennessee, and allow consumers to make online purchases from Amazon without higher taxes. 

“From the beginning, this online sales tax hike was an ill-fated idea,” commented Matt Kibbe, President of FreedomWorks. “Given Tennessee’s unemployment rate of 9.5 percent, losing such a massive number of new jobs and the ripple economic effect would have been devastating to a state economy that has been badly hurting. We commend Governor Haslam and the Tennessee State Legislature for recognizing a rotten egg of a bill when they saw it.”

Now the prospects are brighter for Tennesseans who have worked hard to garner a positive image when it comes to enticing new companies to locate in the Volunteer State.  Governor Haslam was right to insist that Tennessee keep its word to Amazon and send a strong, positive message to other businesses considering Tennessee as a place to locate and grow. This can only bode well for future economic growth and better opportunities for the people of Tennessee.