If less complexity, fewer loopholes and lower rates are the signposts of meaningful tax reform, the dubiously named Marketplace Fairness Act embodies the exact opposite.

The act, introduced in both houses of Congress last month, would empower states to collect sales tax from companies with no physical presence within their borders. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and in the House by Rep. Steve Womack, R Ark., among others, would greatly expand state tax collectors’ reach, resulting in a huge tax hike on many online and catalog purchases.