63 percent of Floridians support e-fairness legislation, according to a new poll released on Thursday.

Florida TaxWatch and Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy released the results of a February 2021 poll today, showing that an overwhelming majority of Floridians that would require out-of-state retailers to collect online sales taxes. Currently, the burden falls on consumers, which costs Florida’s state and local governments over $1.3 billion a year, while also putting in-state retailers at a competitive disadvantage.

“This isn’t a new issue, and it’s not a new tax, but it’s more important now than ever before to follow the majority of states that have enforced the Wayfair ruling,” said Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro.” Florida is experiencing an unprecedented budget deficit, and enacting e-fairness legislation could go a long way in reducing other burdensome taxes – such as the Business Rent Tax (BRT) and the Communication Services Tax (CST) – bolstering our economy, and positioning the state to be as successful as possible in the post-COVID-19 era. That’s why two-thirds of voters believe it’s critical we pursue this opportunity to collect the online sales taxes that are legally owed.”

Florida is one of only two states — Missouri being the other — in the nation that did not respond to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling (South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.) that states can apply reasonable requirements for retailers to collect taxes on online sales to residents even if the retailer does not have a physical presence in the state.

Spearheading e-fairness legislation (HB 15/SB50) this session are State Representative Chuck Clemons and State Senator Joe Gruters. If passed, their proposals could generate $1.3 billion in currently uncollected sales taxes at the state and local levels.

The poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon out of Jacksonville via landline and cell phone from Feb. 24 to Feb. 28. A total of 625 registered Florida voters were interviewed live. According to the poll, 67 percent of Republicans supported e-fairness legislation, while 61 percent of Democrats were in favor of the proposals. 61 percent of independents also said they would support the legislation.

The poll’s margin of error is +/- 4 percent.

Update: Following today’s poll, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted in favor of Gruters’s bill.