The Arizona state Senate is voting today on SB 1338, legislation that would clarify sales tax laws in the state by requiring any company with a warehouse or distribution center in Arizona to collect and remit sales tax. Meanwhile, in Utah the state Senate overwhelmingly passed similar legislation.
ABFFE has joined the National Coalition Against Censorship in protesting a threat by the online payment processor PayPal to close the accounts of online booksellers selling erotic works.
On Thursday, March 1, the Utah House of Representatives passed H.B. 384, legislation that would require remote retailers with nexus in Utah via distribution centers or subsidiaries to collect and remit sales tax.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s office announced this week that an agreement on sales tax fairness legislation had been reached with Amazon.com, members of the General Assembly, and key retailers. In Kansas, ABA Board member Sarah Bagby of Watermark Books & Café testified before a state Senate committee in support of sales tax fairness legislation.
Four New Jersey state lawmakers have introduced legislation that would provide online retailers with a sales tax exemption in exchange for a capital investment and the creation of full-time jobs in the state between January 1, 2012, and December 1, 2013.
The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression joined with other members of the Media Coalition in urging the Supreme Court to hold that a federal law making it a crime to lie about having received a military medal violates the First Amendment.
On February 10, the Virginia Senate passed a sales tax fairness bill by a margin of 34-6. Senate Bill 597 would require retailers with warehouses or distribution centers in Virginia, such as Amazon.com, to collect and remit sales tax for purchases made by Virginia residents.
Amazon.com is promising New Jersey that it will open two warehouses in the state in exchange for a 22-month sales tax exemption even as it announced plans to open a $90 million, 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse in Delaware, a state that does not collect and remit sales tax.
For booksellers seeking small, short-term loans, the SBA’s Microloan Program may be the answer. Here’s a refresher on key features of the program, which offers loans up to $50,000 to start-up, newly established, or growing small businesses.
ABA is urging members to meet with federal lawmakers at their district offices to express support for bipartisan sales tax fairness legislation currently under consideration in the House and Senate.
