E-commerce

Following its overwhelming passage by the U.S. Senate, the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 awaits consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives. With no firm timeline yet set by House leadership, ABA is urging its members to write to their representatives in support of the bill, especially if their congressperson is a member of the House Committee on the Judiciary.

This week, ABA CEO Oren Teicher encouraged booksellers to contact their U.S. representatives to urge them to support the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 (H.R.684),  which faces a difficult fight in the House.

Following bipartisan approval by the U.S. Senate, the Marketplace Fairness Act will now be considered by the U.S. House of Representatives, where all signs point to a tough fight in the coming months.

The U.S. Senate has scheduled a vote on the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 (S.743/S.336) for Monday, May 6. The Marketplace Fairness Act would give states the right to require remote retailers that do $1 million or more in gross remote sales per year to collect and remit sales tax.

As the Senate moves closer to a vote on the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 (S.743/S.336), legislation that would give states the authority to require remote sellers to collect and remit sales tax, numerous editorials and newspaper columns published this week expressed support for the bill’s passage.

On April 21, the Marketplace Fairness Coalition, a diverse array of trade associations and businesses, including ABA, wrote to members of the U.S. Senate to dispute erroneous assertions made by eBay President and CEO John Donahoe about the Marketplace Fairness Act.

On Monday, April 22, the White House endorsed the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, which would give states the authority to require remote sellers to collect and remit sales tax in the state, so long as the seller does more than $1 million in remote gross sales annually. Later in the day, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to move the bill to the Senate floor for debate.

The U.S. Senate may vote on the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 as early as next week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to bring the bill directly to the floor for a vote without first referring it to the Senate Finance Committee, according to published reports.

As the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 continues to gain momentum in the U.S. Congress, three more states are considering enactment of sales tax fairness legislation that would level the playing field for Main Street retailers.

On Thursday, March 28, the New York State Court of Appeals ruled 4-1 in favor of the state’s sales tax fairness law, dismissing arguments made by Amazon.com and Overstock.com that the law was unconstitutional.

New York Times editorial favors sales tax fairness; free bookseller subscription to ForeWord Reviews; European Union to approve Penguin, Random House merger; France budgets for bookstore assistance

On Tuesday, March 19, in advance of the Senate’s landslide vote in favor of sales tax fairness, ABA joined with Jewelers of America to meet with key U.S. senators and representatives in Washington, D.C., in support of the Marketplace Fairness Act (S.336/H.R.684).

On Friday, March 22, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved, by a vote of 75-24, a budget resolution amendment in support of sales tax fairness.

The first in a series of book-oriented promotions planned by Kobo for 2013 launched on Wednesday with the Lonely Planet eBook USA’s Best Trips: 99 Themed Itineraries Across America, a guide to the country’s most iconic road trips.

ABA has submitted public comments to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to oppose the selling of closed generic TLDs, which would allow companies to secure exclusive rights to domains such as .read or .author.