Federal law says if you've purchased tax-free online, you need to pay a tax to the state. But, no one's really doing that. The problem: Arkansas relies heavily on sales tax to support essential government services.
When it comes to federal legislation requiring online merchants to collect sales tax, Republican U.S. Representative Steve Womack of Arkansas has long been one the more prominent GOP backers of such a measure.
KUAR's Karen Tricot Steward spoke with Representative Womack on the issue.
On the state level, there are two bills aimed at forcing Amazon to begin collecting sales tax.
Update: A spokeswoman for Amazon said Friday that the company will begin collecting sales taxes in Arkansas on March 1but declined further comment. The move by the e-commerce giant was voluntary.