Advocacy

On Thursday, February 14, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators and representatives announced the introduction of a sales tax fairness bill that would give states the authority to require remote retailers to collect and remit sales tax on purchases made by customers in their state.

ABFFE will conduct a silent auction of 25 original children’s book artworks in conjunction with the Authors Reception at Winter Institute 8.

Laurie Halse Anderson, a featured panelist at the Wi8 session “Banned Books, Censorship, and YA Literature,” speaks to ABFFE President Chris Finan about how she chooses the subjects for her books and why people try to ban them.

Sherman Alexie and Laurie Halse Anderson, bestselling authors and passionate defenders of the freedom to read, will be at Winter Institute 8 to discuss efforts to ban their books and other young adult works that some people claim are too “dark” for children.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy has announced that as of November 1, 2013, Amazon.com will begin collecting state sales tax in exchange for opening a distribution center in Connecticut and bringing jobs to the state.

The 2013 post-holiday Independent Business Survey, conducted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in partnership with ABA and other indie business organizations, has found that independent businesses experienced solid revenue growth in 2012, buoyed in part by “buy local first” initiatives and growing public interest in supporting locally owned businesses.

On Monday, February 4, the Indiana House of Representatives passed sales tax fairness legislation that would require remote retailers with nexus in the state via online affiliates or warehouses to collect and remit sales tax to the state beginning July 1, 2013.

More than two years after a New York State appellate court dismissed claims by Amazon.com and Overstock.com that the state’s sales tax fairness law was unconstitutional, on Wednesday, February 6, the defendants were back in court arguing their case, this time before the State of New York Court of Appeals.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression’s newest affiliate is Filofax, a premier supplier of journals, datebooks, planners, and writing instruments, including Lamy pens and pencils, and all Letts of London products.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression expressed sorrow today at the death of Carolyn Forsman, a former librarian who supported free expression by becoming an award-winning jewelry designer and creating pieces that celebrated the freedom to read.

The national landscape regarding equitable sales tax collection has shifted dramatically, according to figures tabulated by ABA.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has launched a new web page and blog dedicated to educating small business owners about the Affordable Care Act.

On January 1, 2013, Georgia’s affiliate nexus law went into effect, requiring online retailers with affiliates in the state to collect and remit sales tax to the state. But at least one high-profile company is still ignoring Georgia’s new sales tax law: Amazon.com.

Communities as different as Las Vegas, New Mexico, and Louisville, Kentucky, have at least one thing in common: Their independent businesses recirculate a substantially greater proportion of their revenues back into the local economy than do their chain competitors.

Despite the aggressive efforts of proponents, the 112^th session of Congress closed without a vote on sales tax fairness legislation. Sponsors of the Marketplace Fairness Act are now focusing on passage in the new session of Congress.