Internet Sales Tax Would Hamper Hudson Business

Travis Adams launched an Internet-based company in 2011 in a small office on Crowne Street in Nashua. The business, Whaddy.com, is a merchandise reseller, explains Adams – "a majority of what we sell is simply returns due to buyer's remorse," he says.

A small fraction of what he sells is damaged goods – most of it is true overstocked items, undamaged goods returned to the company for various reasons, which he then resells at deep discounts.

Things are going so well that last year he outgrew the space in Nashua and moved the business to Hudson, where his staff of six processes truck loads of goods bought in bulk – everything from toys and gadgets, to household items, car parts, laptops, sporting equipment and their biggest seller, baby items.

An Internet sales tax would force Adams to hire a full-time accountant with benefits just to keep up with the collection and computation of sales taxes, which would prevent him from hiring what he really needs – more hands on deck in the warehouse.

Last week he welcomed U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster for a visit as part of her "Congress at Your Company" program, to learn more about the business and to reinforce her resolve to fight the Marketplace Fairness Act, proposed legislation that would require businesses including Whaddy.com to collect sales tax because they are an Internet retailer.

Kuster said she opposes it because it penalizes start-ups like Whaddy.com, especially in states like New Hampshire where there is no sales tax.

"Now that the Internet Sales Tax has passed the Senate, it's moved to the House where I feel there's more resistance to it – and not just from people like Carol Shea-Porter and myself who come from states without sales taxes, but from those who don't want to add the increased burden of taxation to small businesses," Kuster said.

"What I've seen this morning is really impressive – Travis got this started a few years back, and they're up to six employees now. He's hiring, hoping to be up to 10 by the end of the year and maybe 20 by next year. It's continuing to grow. What I want is a level playing field. We don't have a sales tax here so I don' want him to be burdened by collecting other states' sales taxes," Kuster said. 

"I'm trying to make sure we continue to have a business environment that's low taxes and less government burdensome regulation. When you go in and take a look it's a warehouse, it's guys working, it's computers – you can get an idea off the ground now, and that's the economy that Travis' generation is in, and the economy we're going to be in," Kuster said.

Kuster first met Adams in March when he visited Washington, DC, to participate in a bipartisan forum on small business innovation led by Kuster, along with Republican Congressman David Schweikert, R-AZ,  and other online entrepreneurs from around the country.

“Innovative small businesses like Whaddy.com are using the Internet to reach new markets, create good jobs, and grow our economy. Congress should be working to create an environment that helps these companies expand and hire – not adding new bureaucratic barriers and red tape that will impede growth,” Kuster said. “But that’s exactly what the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act would do.”

Kuster has submitted a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner reiterating her opposition to the Marketplace Fairness Act, urging Boehner to consider the effect it would have on online entrepreneurs like Adams in New Hampshire, and across the country.

If you would like Kuster to visit your business as part of the "Congress at Your Company" program, contact Robert.Friedlander@mail.house.gov