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With recent wins in the U.S. Senate and the New York Court of Appeals, the campaign for sales tax fairness has gained tremendous momentum. But this week, in an e-mail to ABA bookstore members, ABA CEO Oren Teicher warned that it is now more important than ever to keep the pressure on, and he urged members to reach out to their lawmakers in support of the Marketplace Fairness Act (S.336/H.R.684), most especially to their U.S. senators.
Last week, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted [1] in favor of a budget resolution amendment supporting sales tax fairness, and the New York Court of Appeals dismissed [2]a challenge brought by Amazon.com and Overstock.com that claimed the state’s affiliate nexus law was unconstitutional.
Because of these victories, however, opposition to a federal e-fairness solution is ramping up. “It is clear that those who oppose sales tax equity are not giving up the fight,” Teicher wrote in the e-mail. “And so it is more important than ever that we tell our elected officials in Washington just how important this issue is to bookstores and other Main Street retailers.”
S.336 would give states the authority to require remote retailers doing $1 million or more in gross, remote sales nationally to collect and remit sales tax in the state, so long as the state has made simplifications to its tax system as required in the bill.
“This is the best chance we’ve had to succeed since our campaign for a federal solution began, and nothing is as persuasive to your senators and representatives as a direct communication from you,” Teicher noted.
ABA is asking booksellers to contact their U.S. senators and representatives in support of S.336 and H.R.684. Booksellers whose senator(s) voted in support of the sales tax fairness amendment (see roll call [3] by state below) can adapt the “Senate Thank You” [4] letter under the appropriate state and send it to their senators. For booksellers whose senator(s) voted “No,” there is a “Please Support S.336” [4] template letter under the appropriate state. Booksellers who have not yet contacted their representatives in support of the Marketplace Fairness Act are also urged to do so using the “U.S House Template Letter.” [4] The letter templates can be found in ABA’s E-Fairness Action Kit [4].
Booksellers with questions should contact David Grogan, ABA senior public policy analyst, by e-mail [5] or at (800) 637-0037, ext. 7562.
ROLL CALL
Grouped by Home State
|
Alabama: |
Sessions (R-AL), Yea |
Shelby (R-AL), Yea |
|
Alaska: |
Begich (D-AK), Yea |
Murkowski (R-AK), Nay |
|
Arizona: |
Flake (R-AZ), Nay |
McCain (R-AZ), Yea |
|
Arkansas: |
Boozman (R-AR), Yea |
Pryor (D-AR), Yea |
|
California: |
Boxer (D-CA), Yea |
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea |
|
Colorado: |
Bennet (D-CO), Yea |
Udall (D-CO), Yea |
|
Connecticut: |
Blumenthal (D-CT), Yea |
Murphy (D-CT), Yea |
|
Delaware: |
Carper (D-DE), Yea |
Coons (D-DE), Yea |
|
Florida: |
Nelson (D-FL), Yea |
Rubio (R-FL), Nay |
|
Georgia: |
Chambliss (R-GA), Yea |
Isakson (R-GA), Yea |
|
Hawaii: |
Hirono (D-HI), Yea |
Schatz (D-HI), Yea |
|
Idaho: |
Crapo (R-ID), Yea |
Risch (R-ID), Yea |
|
Illinois: |
Durbin (D-IL), Yea |
Kirk (R-IL), Yea |
|
Indiana: |
Coats (R-IN), Nay |
Donnelly (D-IN), Yea |
|
Iowa: |
Grassley (R-IA), Nay |
Harkin (D-IA), Yea |
|
Kansas: |
Moran (R-KS), Yea |
Roberts (R-KS), Nay |
|
Kentucky: |
McConnell (R-KY), Nay |
Paul (R-KY), Nay |
|
Louisiana: |
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea |
Vitter (R-LA), Nay |
|
Maine: |
Collins (R-ME), Yea |
King (I-ME), Yea |
|
Maryland: |
Cardin (D-MD), Yea |
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea |
|
Massachusetts: |
Cowan (D-MA), Yea |
Warren (D-MA), Yea |
|
Michigan: |
Levin (D-MI), Yea |
Stabenow (D-MI), Yea |
|
Minnesota: |
Franken (D-MN), Yea |
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea |
|
Mississippi |
Cochran (R-MS), Yea |
Wicker (R-MS), Yea |
|
Missouri: |
Blunt (R-MO), Yea |
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea |
|
Montana: |
Baucus (D-MT), Nay |
Tester (D-MT), Nay |
|
Nebraska: |
Fischer (R-NE), Yea |
Johanns (R-NE), Yea |
|
Nevada: |
Heller (R-NV), Nay |
Reid (D-NV), Yea |
|
New Hampshire: |
Ayotte (R-NH), Nay |
Shaheen (D-NH), Nay |
|
New Jersey: |
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Not Voting |
Menendez (D-NJ), Yea |
|
New Mexico: |
Heinrich (D-NM), Yea |
Udall (D-NM), Yea |
|
New York: |
Gillibrand (D-NY), Yea |
Schumer (D-NY), Yea |
|
North Carolina: |
Burr (R-NC), Yea |
Hagan (D-NC), Yea |
|
North Dakota: |
Heitkamp (D-ND), Yea |
Hoeven (R-ND), Yea |
|
Ohio: |
Brown (D-OH), Yea |
Portman (R-OH), Yea |
|
Oklahoma: |
Coburn (R-OK), Yea |
Inhofe (R-OK), Nay |
|
Oregon: |
Merkley (D-OR), Nay |
Wyden (D-OR), Nay |
|
Pennsylvania: |
Casey (D-PA), Yea |
Toomey (R-PA), Nay |
|
Rhode Island: |
Reed (D-RI), Yea |
Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea |
|
South Carolina: |
Graham (R-SC), Yea |
Scott (R-SC), Nay |
|
South Dakota: |
Johnson (D-SD), Yea |
Thune (R-SD), Yea |
|
Tennessee: |
Alexander (R-TN), Yea |
Corker (R-TN), Yea |
|
Texas: |
Cornyn (R-TX), Nay |
Cruz (R-TX), Nay |
|
Utah: |
Hatch (R-UT), Nay |
Lee (R-UT), Nay |
|
Vermont: |
Leahy (D-VT), Yea |
Sanders (I-VT), Yea |
|
Virginia: |
Kaine (D-VA), Yea |
Warner (D-VA), Yea |
|
Washington: |
Cantwell (D-WA), Yea |
Murray (D-WA), Yea |
|
West Virginia: |
Manchin (D-WV), Yea |
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea |
|
Wisconsin: |
Baldwin (D-WI), Yea |
Johnson (R-WI), Yea |
|
Wyoming: |
Barrasso (R-WY), Nay |
Enzi (R-WY), Yea |
Links:
[1] http://news.bookweb.org/news/senate-votes-overwhelmingly-favor-marketplace-fairness-act
[2] http://news.bookweb.org/news/victory-new-york-appeals-court-affirms-state’s-sales-tax-fairness-law
[3] http://archivenews.bookweb.org/news/booksellers-urged-keep-pressure-sales-tax-fairness#roll
[4] http://www.bookweb.org/advocacy/salestax/efact.html
[5] mailto:dave@bookweb.org