In its Jan. 23 editorial, “All internet sales taxes should be collected in Florida,” the Tampa Bay Times supported a bill that would ensue Florida consumers pay sales tax on all of their online purchases. Many of my Republican colleagues in the Florida Legislature, who have long claimed this would be a tax increase, are now calling it a “loophole” that must be closed, now that the COVID-19 pandemic has ripped a multibillion-dollar hole in our state budget.

But while Republicans in Tallahassee are suddenly eager to close tax loopholes for consumers, they still refuse to close tax loopholes for corporations.

Florida has one of the easiest-to-avoid corporate income taxes in the country because we are one of a shrinking minority of states that still allow big corporations to dodge taxes simply by moving money to subsidiaries in other states and countries.

The world’s biggest corporations — Amazon, eBay, Chevron, Target, Microsoft and more — avoid millions in Florida taxes by creating sham transactions, such as paying themselves to use their own logos, that are done solely to shift profits out of Florida.

We could put an end to these shell games. All we have to do is something most other states around the country have already done: Enact a policy known as “combined reporting.”

Many of the arguments for the online sales tax and combined reporting are exactly the same.

For instance, supporters of the online sales tax bill say it would level the playing field for our in-state, brick-and-mortar retailers because they already have to charge sales tax when they sell to Floridians.

Well, combined reporting would also be fairer for our in-state businesses — the small businesses who don’t have subsidiaries in Delaware or Ireland or the Cayman Islands that they can use to dodge taxes.

Supporters also say the online sales tax would be “fiscally prudent,” because it would raise hundreds of millions of dollars in new money. That help us avoid making deep cuts to education, health care and other social programs — cuts that would have a disproportionate impact on low-income Floridians, people of color and other disadvantaged communities.

Well, combined reporting would also raise hundreds of millions of dollars a year, too. The nonpartisan Florida Policy Institute estimates that it would generate $477 million a year — more than we currently spend on statewide pre-kindergarten.

And combined reporting has other advantages.

Only 1 percent of Florida businesses pay the state corporate income tax. These are the biggest corporations in the world — the companies whose fortunes have soared despite the pandemic. We should make these thriving multinationals pay their fair share, especially at a time like this.

Florida also leans far too heavily on sales tax already, a volatile and grossly regressive revenue source.

For instance, sales tax accounts for 79 percent of Florida’s general revenue — nearly $4 of every $5. This is like investing 80 percent of your money in a single stock, and it means that economic downturns hit harder in Florida than in other states with more diversified tax bases.

Because of its lopsided reliance on sales tax — which forces poorer people to pay a larger share of their income in taxes than richer people — Florida has one of the most unequal tax structures in the country, according to the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The poorest 20 percent of Florida families pay 12.7 percent of their income in state and local taxes — while the richest 1 percent pay just 2.3 percent.

Enacting combined reporting – and forcing the Walmart’s and Walt Disney Co.’s of the world to pay a fairer share – would help us address these imbalances.

Ultimately, it’s as simple as this: We should only ask Florida consumers to pay higher taxes after we make big corporations do the same.

Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, D-Orlando, is the ranking member on the Ways and Means Committee in the Florida House of Representatives.