Advocacy

 With the movement to pass a national sales tax fairness bill gaining momentum in Congress, BTW asked three booksellers who participated in ABA’s recent Sales Tax Fairness Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., about their experiences and the importance of meeting with legislators.

Both the U.S. Senate’s Marketplace Fairness Act and the House’s Marketplace Equity Act, which would provide states with the authority to require remote sellers to collect and remit sales tax in the state, include small-seller exemptions.

Late last week, Simon Property Group, the largest mall owner in the country, filed a lawsuit against the state of Indiana in an effort to get the state to require Amazon.com to collect and remit sales tax on orders by Indiana residents.

ABA welcomed this week’s introduction in the Senate of the Marketplace Fairness Act, legislation that would provide states with authorization to require remote sellers to collect and remit state sales tax, as an important step toward a national sales tax fairness solution.

To help plan next year’s 30^th anniversary celebration of Banned Books Week, ABFFE is asking booksellers to complete a brief online survey.

A new study prepared for American Express OPEN by Civic Economics has found that in neighborhoods with thriving independent businesses home values outperformed citywide markets by 50 percent over the last 14 years.

ABA announced this week that it is inviting independent association executives and independent business advocacy groups and their members to Washington, D.C., to advocate on behalf of a national sales tax fairness solution.

This week, a coalition of small businesses joined Rep. Jackie Speier and Rep. Steve Womack in Washington, D.C., for the introduction of the Marketplace Equity Act.

ABA has entered into a new partnership with Civic Economics that will enable 10 communities with an active ABA member bookstore to work directly with Civic Economics at a reduced rate to create a customized study examining the economic benefits of local, independent retailers.

 The 29th annual celebration of Banned Books Week set a record for the number of readings from banned books and brought a successful conclusion to a three-week auction of children’s art by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.

Tennessee has become the latest state to negotiate an agreement with Amazon.com that would postpone the date by which the online retailer must collect state sales tax.

According to a study released this week, New Jersey lost $171 million in non-collected sales and use tax on business-to-consumer Internet purchases of goods and services from out-of-state vendors in 2009.

Since the enactment of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, the U.S. Small Business Administration has been lending at record levels. Booksellers can learn about SBA’s loan programs and more at the upcoming regional trade shows.

On Friday, September 23, Gov. Jerry Brown signed an amended sales tax fairness bill that was the result of a last-minute deal California lawmakers made with Amazon.com.

With the start of Banned Books Week on Saturday, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression’s auction of original children’s book art will enter its final week on eBay.