Six Chicago residents have filed a complaint against the city's amusement tax, which was recently interpreted to include Internet-based streaming services for audio, video and gaming including Netflix, Spotify and XBox Live, the filing said. Chicago’s comptroller ruled in June that the charges paid for accessing these streaming services would attract a 9 percent amusement tax starting Sept. 1. The complaint, filed Sept. 9, alleges the comptroller acted beyond his authority in applying the amusement tax to activities it wasn’t originally intended for. According to the complaint, new taxes can’t be imposed without a city council vote, so the tax on streaming platforms is legally invalid.
The “underlying dispute” in Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl -- “whether Colorado’s remote sales tax reporting law violated both the U.S. and Colorado Constitutions” -- was remanded to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, eBay said in a blog post Thursday. “This case remains important to internet-enabled sellers because any final court ruling could serve as a litmus test for other state legislatures that are looking to require out of state businesses to collect and remit sales taxes on purchases made by their residents.” The Supreme Court ruled in favor of DMA's case against Colorado (see 1503030061). In the unanimous decision released Tuesday, the court said interstate and remote merchants can challenge state tax issues in federal court, overturning a previous 10th Circuit ruling (see 1411250042).