Over the last four decades, the aggregate sales tax base across all states has contracted, creating financial issues for states that rely heavily on sales taxes. This has prompted greater interest among states in taxation of remote online sales as a potential source of revenue, as e-commerce transactions and total sales continue growing at a rapid pace. Public finance fellow Joyce Beebe discusses state and federal legislation aimed at granting states greater authority to collect sales taxes on remote online sales, as well as obstacles to those efforts.