Beginning September 1, Amazon.com will begin complying with Georgia’s affiliate nexus law, which went into effect on January 1. Enforcement of the law is expected to add $16 million annually to the state’s coffers and create more than 50,000 jobs.
That’s the message of the Alliance for Main Street Fairness, which highlights three steps that small business owners and other local citizens can take during Congress’ August recess to encourage their U.S. representatives to support the Marketplace Fairness Act.
This week, ABA CEO Oren Teicher offers both perspective on recent events and resources to help member bookstores share with customers facts about Amazon that tell a story they might not know.
The strong reaction of independent booksellers and other Main Street advocates to President Obama’s visit to an Amazon warehouse in Tennessee to deliver an address on job creation was reported in media outlets across the country.
On the heels of press reports that Amazon has drastically lowered the price on many hardcover titles, on Monday, July 29, the Board of Directors of the American Booksellers Association and CEO Oren Teicher criticized President Obama’s decision to hold his jobs speech this week at an Amazon facility in Tennessee.
Maine and Missouri enact affiliate nexus laws; SIBA launches read-aloud program Parapalooza; Man Booker Prize longlist revealed; Romance Writers of America announces RITA, Golden Heart winners; Student spending on textbooks increases; ABFFE asks for transparency from Congress; Amazon loses battle to acquire .amazon Internet suffix
In a report released last week, Dr. Arthur Laffer, a leading proponent of conservative economics, and co-author Donna Arduin, a former state budget director, argue that implementing sales tax fairness is necessary to address a fundamental inequity in the free market.
If the U.S. House passes the Marketplace Fairness Act, it will trigger a lower state income tax bill for residents of Wisconsin and Ohio. The governors of the two states have signed budgets that would reduce income taxes if the House votes in favor of closing the sales tax loophole on online purchases.
This week, the Marketplace Fairness Coalition (MFC) is urging the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary to hold a hearing on sales tax fairness. MFC includes among its members the American Booksellers Association, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA).
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