While tariffs and the coronavirus have been hogging the headlines, businesses are facing another massive hurdle: collecting online sales tax.

As a result of Wayfair v. South Dakota, in which the Supreme Court ruled that states can force internet retailers to collect sales taxes in states where they have no physical presence, business owners have been living an administrative nightmare. Companies potentially must know the sales tax laws of every state, file sales tax forms for every state and be registered to do business in every state. It’s such a tremendous burden that companies have been forced to hire outside services or additional staff just to comply with the various sales tax laws.

Bradley Scott spoke at a hearing last week with the U.S. House Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access.

The U.S. House Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access held a hearing last week on the ramifications of Wayfair. Speakers included Bradley Scott, whose wife is the president of their family-owned wholesale jewelry company Halstead Beads in Prescott, AZ. After diverting more than 3,800 hours away from business operations to became sales tax compliant last year, Scott was compelled to voice the universal frustrations of small business owners. Here’s what Scott recommended.

Set Uniform Policy: Instead of each state constructing their own rates and thresholds, Scott suggests that the federal government command states to make a uniform sales tax policy. This would substantially reduce time and effort of companies having to research, consistently keep up with and abide by each state’s regulations.

Send to One Destination: Companies should file with only one entity, Scott says, and that’s the Department of Revenue in their nexus (having a physical presence in a state). Then, it should be the responsibility of that department to communicate with and transfer the information to Departments of Revenue across the country. Having one contact point would streamline the entire process.

Create Uniform Exemption Certificate: There should be a single, recognized, nationally accepted exemption certificate, Scott argues. Right now, there are a slew of documents required by states that can confuse business owners. Each state also has a different amount of time that exemption certificates are valid.

For example, Scott says Maryland has an exemption certificate that only applies to orders of $200 or greater. Any transaction that’s less, even if it’s between businesses, is taxable. Meanwhile, New Mexico has an exemption certificate that’s only good for five transactions. After the fifth order, Scott says, companies have to get another exemption certificate.

Narrow the Scope of Wayfair: Initially, the ruling was directed at online retailers collecting sales tax. However, Scott says, the scope has expanded to regulating gross receipt and interstate transaction. “It’s a giant leap from the intention and now affects every industry,” Scott says. “We’ve reached out to CPAs across the area, and they’re incapable of helping us because of the complexity of this.” Scott urges the government to refocus its enforcement of the mandate.