A business collecting taxes for the state they are in, even for orders shipped out of state, would make sense. But the individual states seem unwilling to do this, as it would decrease their own businesses' advantage. And that's the whole point - we should welcome competition in tax rates, wherever it can possibly even be found.
Referencing New England was not arbitrary, as the ability to drive two states over to simply have dinner is a condition that holds the state governments to a modicum of honesty.