The so-called Marketplace Fairness Act would give “the long arm of the law” a whole new, and terrible, meaning. In the process, it would do tremendous harm to New Hampshire businesses large and small, and it could lead ultimately to the undoing of the New Hampshire Advantage.

The bill, pending in the U.S. Senate, is the latest attempt to turn businesses into tax collectors for every state and local government nationwide. It would require any business that does more than $500,000 in online sales to collect and remit sales taxes for each buyer’s jurisdiction. According to Brian Bieron, eBay’s senior director for federal relations, New Hampshire’s online retailers would go from collecting no sales tax to collecting sales taxes for 9,600 jurisdictions nationwide.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte has noted that if this bill becomes law, the next logical step is to extend it to brick-and-mortar stores. If online retailers have to collect sales taxes for Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, New York, etc., why shouldn’t regular retailers be made to do it too? There is a very real possibility that this law could bring an end to the New Hampshire Advantage.

With that in mind, both Ayotte and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen have come out against the bill. They have a strong opponent in the National Conference of State Legislatures. That left-leaning organization of state lawmakers supports the bill in the hope that states can use it to collect more tax revenues. The NCSL swears in a new president this week: New Hampshire House Democratic Leader Terie Norelli.

Getting the Marketplace Fairness Act passed is “one of NCSL’s top priorities,” according to the minutes of the group’s Jan. 21 executive committee meeting, which Norelli attended. Norelli, as president, will be expected to follow the two past presidents in aggressively pushing this legislation on Capitol Hill. In the past she has said she opposed attempts to make New Hampshire businesses collect sales taxes, though last year she signed a letter urging Congress to support a similar law. As president of the NCSL, will she support its position or publicly join Ayotte and Shaheen in opposing this bill that could end the New Hampshire Advantage?

Granite Staters should keep a close eye on this bill and on Terie Norelli. Ayotte and Shaheen have taken the right side in this fight. Norelli needs to clearly and publicly explain her position. The people of New Hampshire need to know if she is working on their behalf or on behalf of states that have sales taxes.