Sales Tax Initiative

The American Booksellers Association and the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA) are urging Connecticut bookstore members to contact their state representatives to voice their support for HB 5481, sales tax fairness legislation. In late March, Connecticut's Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee passed the legislation by a vote of 35 - 13. Connecticut's House of Representatives is now considering the bill.

Last Thursday, Connecticut's Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee passed sales tax fairness legislation, HB 5481, by a vote of 35 - 13. The legislation now goes to Connecticut's House of Representatives for consideration.

On Wednesday, March 17, a group of Maryland booksellers testified at a state Senate Budget and Taxation committee hearing in Annapolis in support of e-fairness legislation. Other booksellers submitted written testimony in support of the bill, SB 824.

This week, American Booksellers Association staff traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with key legislators and other associations to discuss sales tax equity and other policy issues. Over a two-day period, ABA CEO Oren Teicher, Content Director Dan Cullen, and Senior Public Policy Analyst David Grogan met with senior staff from the offices of Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY) and Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-MA), and with representatives of the National Retail Federation (NRF) and AARP. In addition, they attended the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) American Associations Day 2010.

Early this week, Amazon.com created a firestorm when it announced it had fired all of its Colorado-based online affiliates to protest a state sales tax law. The law, HB10-1193, which was signed by Gov. Bill Ritter on February 24, requires out-of-state retailers to either collect and remit sales tax for purchases made by Colorado residents or to inform their Colorado customers that they owe use tax on any purchase they have made.

This week in California the e-fairness provision in the legislative budget was temporarily tabled when lawmakers decided to split the proposed budget into several distinct bills. However, the development did not derail sales tax equity efforts in the state. In Illinois, the Senate Revenue Committee is poised to vote on sales tax fairness legislation, following a hearing that is scheduled to include testimony from an ABA bookstore member. In Virginia, a proposed e-fairness budget amendment is expected to come up for a vote sometime next week.

This week, the Virginia State Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass e-fairness legislation, while senators in Maryland and Illinois introduced bills that would bring about sales tax equity for thousands of retailers in their states. In addition, legislators in California appear to be moving closer to bringing about e-fairness in the state. And, in Colorado, members of the State House of Representatives passed a uniquely amended version of sales tax legislation that looks to focus on consumer use tax compliance, and it is expected that Gov. Bill Ritter will sign the bill into law.

The calls for e-fairness continue to grow throughout the country. Over the past two weeks, Oklahoma and Vermont introduced e-fairness legislation, and it's expected that similar legislation will soon be introduced in Maryland. On Wednesday, proponents of e-fairness legislation in Virginia earned an initial victory when the Senate Finance Committee approved Senate Bill 660, sending it to the Senate floor for a debate and vote. The bill would level the playing field and make sure that out-of-state online retailers collect sales tax for sales to Virginia residents.

The New Year kicked off in high gear on the e-fairness front, as four states recently introduced sales tax equity legislation. Facing budget shortfalls and a decline in sales tax revenue due to the growth of online shopping, legislators in Colorado, New Mexico, Vermont, and Virginia, have introduced bills that would level the playing field for the collection of sales tax on online sales and ensure the equitable enforcement of existing Internet sales tax laws.