L. 86-272 was enacted in 1959 when the world and interstate commerce were very different from what they are now. The Internet had not yet been invented and consumers wishing to purchase items in interstate commerce would often rip out the order form from a catalog, fill it out, and mail it to the company with a check, something no one under the age of 40 could fathom. In those dark ages, Internet searches did not exist, and businesses had to send salespersons out to find customers for their products and solicit sales.
Despite the intervening changes to interstate commerce, P.L. 86-272 has remained unamended since it was enacted 66 years ago. And crucially, the statute has been the subject of only one major case decided by the Supreme Court—Wisconsin Dep’t of Rev. v. William Wrigley Jr. Co, which was decided in 1992. Thus, despite the evolution of interstate commerce, P.L. 86-272 and the case law interpreting it have remained unaltered for decades.
Breen M. Schiller co-authored an article for the Journal of State Taxation titled “Big Beautiful Lost Opportunity—Senate Removes Proposed P.L. 86-272 Amendment.”