The e-commerce company operated by Lynn Swann, former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and front-runner for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Pennsylvania, has said it will begin collecting and remitting state sales tax for its online sales.
The announcement came several days after the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue sent a questionnaire to the company, Swann Inc., to determine if it should be collecting the 6% sales tax for the memorabilia and collectibles sold on LynnSwann.com to Pennsylvania residents.
After initially saying that the company would wait to see the questionnaire from the state agency, Swann was quoted in press reports yesterday as saying that the company has already filed to start collecting tax on goods sold in Pennsylvania, and would file to do the same in California, where its headquarters are located. The Web site offers autographed footballs for $200, signed photos for $150 and T-shirts, hats and helmets.
Swann is widely favored to win the Republican nomination for the Pennsylvania governorship in a primary this May. His campaign has made tax burdens an issue in the race against incumbent Democratic governor Ed Rendell.
According to the Allentown Morning Call, a Rendell spokesman said the state frequently investigates businesses to see if they should be charging sales tax and issued 7,700 such questionnaires in 2005.
The taxes at issue would affect only buyers living in the states where Swann Inc. maintains formal business addresses. The Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) and Use Agreement was launched in October 2005 to let sellers collect and funnel sales taxes for online, catalog or phone purchases based on their locations and the home states of their customers. But Pennsylvania has yet to enact legislation that would implement the solution and has only an advisory part in developing those standards.
Swann played for the Steelers from 1974 to 1982 and helped them to four Super Bowl wins in that period.
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