On November 7, the Commission filed an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court, supporting Colorado’s cross-petition in DMA v. Brohl. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) is appealing the Tenth Circuit’s decision that Colorado’s sales and use tax notice and reporting statute did not discriminate against interstate commerce. The Commission brief supports Colorado’s position that, if the court grants review based on DMA’s discrimination claim, it should also take the opportunity to reconsider Quill v. North Dakota. This case is unusually well-suited for this purpose because Quill has already been invoked and analyzed extensively in the lower court proceedings; the current situation demonstrates the convoluted efforts necessary to collect use tax; and the case is unlikely to give rise to retroactive tax liability.
The Commission also emphasized the ways in which the Quill physical presence standard has proven unworkable as a “bright-line” rule, particularly given the nature of modern commerce.
You can read the brief by clicking here 