States came closer to collecting taxes on internet, phone and catalog sales when the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP) admitted 18 states as full or associate members of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement's (SSUTA) governing board at a meeting on June 30 and July 1, reports DM News.

Under the SSUTA agreement, the simplified sales tax system cannot take effect until at least 10 states representing 20 percent of the total U.S. population are in compliance with the agreement, writes Internet News. The 18 states admitted to the SSUTA board represent 25.3 percent of the population of states.

But there is no legal obligation to collect online sales taxes until Congress passes a law allowing the qualifying states to do so. Still, as of October 1, retailers may voluntarily agree to collect taxes for remote sales originating in any of the 12 states that are full members.

In 1992, in the Quill case, the U.S. Supreme Court said a state could require only sellers that have a physical presence in that state to collect "use taxes." It also ruled that buyers owe the tax, but the U.S. system of more than 7,500 taxing jurisdictions is too complex and burdensome for online retailers to charge and collect sales taxes. The court ruled that states would need to first simplify the existing system.