Briefing Underway and Oral Argument Scheduled in Wayfair
February 28, 2018
South Dakota has now filed its opening brief in the Wayfair case urging the Supreme Court to abandon the physical-presence requirement for the imposition of sales tax. See our earlier report here. Among the points stressed by the State are that the existing Quill rule is generally out-of-step with Commerce Clause jurisprudence; that Quill and its predecessor were decided in the context of mail-order businesses, prior to the explosion of online commerce, and therefore the Court does not have to conclude that those cases were wrongly decided at the time; and that current technology has eliminated the practical difficulties of sales tax collection from multiple states that previously concerned the Court.
Amicus briefs in support of South Dakota–and they are expected to be numerous–are due next Monday, March 5. The companies’ response brief is due March 28, with supporting amicus briefs due a week later.
Oral argument is scheduled for April 17.