The U.S. House of Representatives will take on fair sales-tax policies for brick-and-mortar retailers following the U.S. Senate’s passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act May 6. HR 684 does not create new taxes, only provides for fair taxation.
“CBA has been advocating along with other retail groups to pass this legislation to help our members compete fairly in the marketplace,” said Curtis Riskey, CBA president.
CBA supports the legislation for three reasons:
Retailers should contact their House representative to support fair-sales tax treatment. Download a sample retailer letter.
The U.S. Senate will be voting this week on the Marketplace Fairness Act. The Senate has agreed to consider the bill, but we expect that some Senators will object to shortening the 30 hours of post-cloture debate time and so if no time is yielded back then actual debate on the bill and amendments began on Wednesday, April 24. At this stage of time, we need calls from supporters into Senators office expressing support for the bill. You can call a special toll-free hotline to be patched directly into your Senators to express support and urge a “yes” vote on the bill. Check out the talking points below and please call and also encourage your staff members to call. CBA has prepared a letter to be faxed/e-mailed today.
Here’s what you can tell or e-mail to your employees:
Urgent: Tell your Senators to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act today!
For the first time in over a decade, we have a real shot at ending the special treatment given to Amazon, Overstock and other e-tailers. With broad bipartisan support in the Senate to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act, now is the time to encourage our Senators to pass e-fairness legislation now! We believe a vote in the Senate could happen in the next 72 hours. The best way to help is to call your Senator(s) today, and encourage them to stand up for local retailers and vote in favor of the Marketplace Fairness Act.
You can contact them toll-free using the Main Street Fairness hotline: 1-855-808-2387. Every communication makes a difference in moving the Marketplace Fairness Act forward.
Retailers who create jobs and contribute to our communities need a level playing field. That’s all we’re asking for. No special treatment, no special deals. Just let us all compete on price and service in a free market without the government giving some companies an advantage over brick and mortar stores.
Below are some talking points for you and your employees’ convenience.
Talking points for communication with Senators:
I am calling today to urge you to vote “yes” on the Marketplace Fairness Act.
This vital legislation will level the playing field between Main Street retailers and their online competitors who are currently enjoying special tax treatment. It’s time to restore true fairness to the marketplace, ensuring that every retailer plays by the same rules and every sale is treated the same whether it’s made online or in a brick-and-mortar store.
We simply cannot afford to delay another year. The negative impact of this situation is serious when we are put at a significant competitive disadvantage because of a government-sanctioned loophole, which translates to a key pricing advantage for online sellers.
All retailers compete on price, but we cannot tell a customer that we won’t charge them sales tax. We would be put in jail if we did that. But that’s what our online competitors are allowed to do every day.
When the government is favoring one type of retail business over another, it causes us to lose customers through no fault of our own. This hurts our business that invests here and creates jobs.
All we are asking is for Congress to end a tax advantage to online retailers where one shouldn’t exist—an advantage that exacts a heavy toll on local jobs and the local community.
We urge you to vote for passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act and ensure this bipartisan legislation becomes law as soon as possible.
Legislation is pending before the U.S. Congress that would enable states to require Internet-only retailers to collect and remit sales tax for purchases in local states, helping level the playing field for independent businesses and Christian-store retailers.
Local independent businesses generate more powerful economic impacts than out-of-state businesses seeking tax avoidance. While the public generally believes the Internet is tax-free, local states and cities can’t fund basic services.
Independent businesses re-circulate substantially more money locally than chains and Internet-only competitors. Economic-impact research has found for every $100 spent at national chains $13 remain in the community compared to $45 when spent at locally owned businesses.
Generally, the proposed Main Street Fairness legislation provides consensus and authority to make the voluntary 1999 Streamline Sales and Use Tax Agreement the national standard. It enables fair and efficient ways for Internet-only businesses to collect and remit taxes back to states.
If your state hasn’t supported pending legislation, urge your governor and congressional representatives to publicly support these federal bills that would give states the right to require remote retailers to collect and remit sales tax in the state. These bills are the Marketplace Fairness Act, in the U.S. Senate and the Marketplace Equity Act, in the U.S. House of Representative. Both bills have bipartisan support, as well as the backing of a wide and diverse array of retailers.
Check the latest bill status at Thomas.gov. Just enter “Main Street Fairness” in the search box.
Two primary bills are pending, including HR 2701 introduced by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), and S 1452, introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin (D, IL).
Retailers lose in New Jersey-Amazon tax deal
New Jersey has reached an agreement with Amazon.com requiring the Internet-only retailer to begin collecting state sales tax on purchases made in New Jersey by July 1, 2013. However, the deal gives away a lot more than the state will get, according to state retailers and economic researchers.
Read more …
CBA recently sent U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) a letter thanking him for co-sponsoring the Marketplace Fairness Act (S. 1832) in the U.S. Senate. The legislation would end the unlevel playing field that currently exists between online-only retailers and their brick-and-mortar counterparts. Online-only retailers exploit a loophole that pre-dates the Internet and allows them to avoid collecting sales taxes on items purchased online.
To access a copy of the letter, click here.
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