The battle over a proposed Internet sales tax has moved to the House, with interests on both sides pouring money into the campaign coffers of potential allies.

The bill passed the Senate in May, and the fight for votes in the House is focused on tax-leery Republicans; most Democratic lawmakers appear to be behind the measure. Opponents argue that it’s a new tax, while supporters say it simply compels enforcement of existing local and state sales levies.

Major retailers, including some online ones, have thrown their weight behind the initiative, and in the last few days of June a number of their PACs made significant contributions to key Republican House members. Opponents, such as eBay, also wrote some big checks, though far fewer, as talks began to heat up.

Walmart, A review of the most recent reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, covering gifts to candidate committees from April 1 to June 30, show that dozens of House members reeled in large contributions from the PACs of Home Depot Amazon , the National Retail Federation and other supporters of the Marketplace Fairness Act . Several of the donors gave dramatically more than they had a year earlier.

Help us keep government accountable by making a donation today.

For instance, in June 2012, Home Depot’s PAC gave a total of $77,500 to campaigns and leadership PACs. Last month, the company’s PAC gave $296,500. On June 12 alone, Home Depot’s PAC gave out at least $143,500 to members of Congress. Included in Home Depot’s contribution blitz were lawmakers who will be vital to the bill’s final passage.

Another key lawmaker is Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who chairs the full House Judiciary Committee and has stated his support for the tax bill. Goodlatte’s campaign recieved $2,500 from the National Retail Federation’s PAC, $1,000 apiece from the PACs of Best Buy and Lowes, and $2,500 apiece from Home Depot, Target and the Consumer Electronics Association (which has publicly lobbied for Goodlatte’s support ). Goodlatte’s leadership PAC also picked up $5,000 from Amazon’s PAC.

Last Wednesday, the National Retail Federation organized a “fly in” — an en masse visit to Capitol Hill by executives from its member companies — to talk to House Republicans about supporting the tax. In late June, the NRF also announced an inaugural award to members of Congress for being “ Heroes of Mainstreet ,” specifically for their support of the Internet sales tax legislation. Of the 24 Republican “heroes,” all but two received donations from either the NRF or one of the trade group’s top members.

Home Depot and Walmart were particularly generous with these 22 House Republicans, showering them with a combined $59,500.



For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center: Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics.For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center: [email protected]





Support Accountability Journalism At OpenSecrets.org we offer in-depth, money-in-politics stories in the public interest. Whether you’re reading about 2020 presidential fundraising, conflicts of interest or “dark money” influence, we produce this content with a small, but dedicated team. Every donation we receive from users like you goes directly into promoting high-quality data analysis and investigative journalism that you can trust.Please support our work and keep this resource free. Thank you. Support OpenSecrets ➜