Online shopping could potentially change forever if Congress decides to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act, a bill that would require all online retailers to collect sales tax on Internet purchases.

The Senate approved the bill earlier this week by a margin of 69 to 17 but its fate now depends on House lawmakers. House Speaker John Boehner told Bloomberg in an interview on Tuesday that the bill would be a “big burden on some very small businesses” and he would “probably not” support it.

Online sales totaled $231 billion in 2012 and could grow to $370 billion by 2017, according to Forrester Research. There are currently more than 400,000 eCommerce-related jobs in the U.S., Forrester says.

Taxing online goods has come into sharp focus in the past year because so few consumers actually pay sales tax on their Internet purchases. Retailers are required by law to only collect sales tax from consumers when they have a physical presence or warehouse in the state where the consumer lives.

The world has given corporate chiefs plenty of excuses to stay cautious and focus inward over the past several years – and most CEOs have used these excuses as permission to do just that.

Most corporate leaders have only held their jobs in times of threat and turmoil, from credit meltdown to severe global recession to sovereign-debt crises and radical technological change.

As a result, despite stock prices and profit margins at record highs, CEOs as a group have become conditioned to play defense. They have hoarded cash, using it mostly to buy back shares or increase dividends, while generally shunning bold investments or expansionary deal making.

Related: Today's CEOs Are Too Timid for the Times

Bob Iger also faced an onslaught of worldwide economic tumult and wrenching technological threats to his business since taking over as CEO of Walt Disney Co. (DIS) in late 2005.

Yet instead of treading gingerly, Iger has aggressively spent to expand Disney parks, launched a cruise line and