LAURENCE KOTLIKOFF: Did The Supreme Court Potentially Bankrupt Tens Of Thousands Of Small Online Businesses?

Small business is supposed to be the engine of economic growth and the internet is now the engine of small business growth. Today’s Supreme Court’s decision is potentially the engine of small business death. This plus the looming global trade war may be more than enough to pull the plug on our economic recovery.

Yes, we’ve very badly needed to rationalize state-business taxation. But what was and is needed is a system in which a company can file one and only one unified state sales and income tax return, pay one and only one tax bill and then have the states divvy up the proceeds. This will no doubt require federal legislation. Absent such a solution, the little engine that could — small online business — may immediately become the little engine that can’t.

The Powers That Be seem ready to rein in the Internet, whether it’s free speech or free enterprise.