Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to Small Business: Drop Dead

With the stroke of his pen, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn sent a strong message to small businesses that they are not welcome in his state. The hostile signal from Governor Quinn came by signing HB 3659 into law, which forces out-of-state retailers to collect Illinois state sales tax for Internet sales, based on the view that affiliate marketers constitute a tax nexus for the retailers. Noted “Mom & Pop” advocate Walmart applauded Pat Quinn’s move to send scores of IL entrepreneurs to the unemployment line. How, you ask, would this legislation, which carried the misnomer of the “Mainstreet Fairness Bill”,...