House Bill 259 Summary

• Defines "marketplace facilitator" as a person that contracts with sellers to facilitate retail sales through physical or electronic marketplaces and engages in specified activities such as transmitting offers, operating marketplace infrastructure, providing virtual currency, or performing related software development.

• Requires marketplace facilitators to register with the state tax commission and collect, report, and pay state sales and use taxes on facilitated retail sales, with a 45-day compliance period for those with physical presence and a $100,000 sales threshold for those without physical presence.

• Expands the definition of "retailer engaged in business in Idaho" to include retailers without physical presence that have cumulative gross receipts exceeding $100,000 in the previous or current calendar year, effective June 1, 2019.

• Directs state sales and use taxes collected by marketplace facilitators and out-of-state retailers to be distributed to the state refund account and tax relief fund from June 1, 2019 through June 30, 2024; after July 1, 2024, remaining funds follow standard distribution formulas with excess paid to the tax relief fund instead of the general fund.

• Becomes effective June 1, 2019, with an emergency declaration.