time: july 24, 2020
title: high court: online shoppers can be forced to pay sales tax
sources: u.s. news & world report 《美国新闻与世界报道》
states will be able to force more people to pay sales tax when they make online purchases under a supreme court decision thursday that will leave shoppers with lighter wallets but is a big financial win for states.
force sb to do sth 迫使某人做某事
sales tax 购物税（注意和销售税的区别）
with lighter wallets 钱包更轻了（钱少了）
be good for/ be in the interests for sb to do sth/ be a win for sb 有利于
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the supreme court’s opinion thursday overruled a pair of decades-old decisions that states said cost them billions of dollars in lost revenue annually. the decisions made it more difficult for states to collect sales tax on certain online purchases.
overrule “推翻、否决、驳回”（改词常用于法律、政治类题材）=overturn
cost sb sth 使某人损失某物
反义表达：earn sb sth
revenue 特指企业或政府的收入
make it difficult for sb to do 使某人做某事很困难
collect tax on 征税 =levy tax on （征税的主体是国家或者政府）
pay tax 交税（主体是个人或者企业）
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the cases the court overturned said that if a business was shipping a customer’s purchase to a state where the business didn’t have a physical presence such as a warehouse or office, the business didn’t have to collect sales tax for the state. customers were generally responsible for paying the sales tax to the state themselves if they weren’t charged it, but most didn’t realize they owed it and few paid.
the business 商家，公司
owe v.欠钱
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justice anthony kennedy wrote that the previous decisions were flawed. “each year the physical presence rule becomes further removed from economic reality and results in significant revenue losses to the states,” he wrote in an opinion joined by four other justices. kennedy wrote that the rule “limited state’ ability to seek long-term
prosperity and has prevented market participants from competing on an even playing field.”
注意joined by 的使用
removed 可以引申为“different”不同的
economic reality 经济现状
limit one’s ability to do sth 不利于，阻碍
playing field 竞技场
on an even playing field 公平地 可以用fairly/ equally替换
=on an equal footing
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the ruling is a victory for big chains with a presence in many states, since they usually collect sales tax on online purchases already. now, rivals will be charging sales tax where they hadn’t before. big chains have been collecting sales tax nationwide because they typically have physical stores in whatever state a purchase is being shipped to. amazon.com, with its network of warehouses, also collects sales tax in every state that charges it, though third-party sellers who use the site don’t have to.
is a victory for =is a win for
collect
tax =charge tax 收税
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until now, many sellers that have a physical presence in only a single state or a few states have been able to avoid charging sales taxes when they ship to addresses outside those states. sellers that use ebay and etsy, which provide platforms for smaller sellers, also haven’t been collecting sales tax nationwide. under the ruling thursday, states can pass laws requiring out-of-state sellers to collect the state’s sales tax from customers and send it to the state.
until now 在此之前
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retail trade groups praised the ruling, saying it levels the playing field for local and online businesses. the losers, said retail analyst neil saunders, are online-only retailers, especially smaller ones. those retailers may face headaches complying with various state sales tax laws. the small business & entrepreneurship council advocacy group said in a statement, “small businesses and internet entrepreneurs are not well served at all by this decision.”
trade groups贸易团体
level the playing field 创造公平地竞争环境
serve v.引申为“有帮助、有利于”
需要注意的一点逻辑：政府或州征税，但是由商家去征税，然后交给政府或州
36. the supreme court decision thursday will
[a] better business’ revolutions with states.
[b] put most online business in a dilemma.
[c] make more online shoppers pay sales tax.
[d] force some states to cut sales tax.
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37. it can be learned from paragraphs 2 and 3 that the overruled decisions
[a] have led to the dominance of e-commerce.
[b] have cost consumers a lot over the years.
[c] were widely criticized by online purchases.
[d] were consider unfavorable by states.
分析：
overrule 推翻
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38. according to justice anthony kennedy , the physical presence rule has
[a] hindered economic development.
[b] brought prosperity to the country.
[c] harmed fair market competition.
[d] boosted growth in states’ revenue.
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39. who are most likely to welcome the supreme court ruling?
[a] internet entrepreneurs.
[b] big-chair owners.
[c] third-party sellers.
[d] small retailers.
分析：
welcome 的替换词：benefit/ favor/ support/ winner/ praise
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40. in dealing with the supreme court decision thursday, the author
[a] gives a factual account of it and discusses its consequences.
[b] describes the long and complicated process of its making.
[c] presents its main points with conflicting views on them.
[d] cities some cases related to it and analyzes their implications.
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