Sales Tax Initiative

This week, the American Booksellers Association announced the addition of an op-ed template to the new E-Fairness Action Kit (E-FACT). Booksellers are urged to adapt the op-ed and to e-mail it to their local newspapers as a way of promoting the issue of e-fairness.

Last week, the American Booksellers Association launched the E-Fairness Action Kit (E-FACT) to provide booksellers with crucial, state-specific tools to help them with their e-fairness communications and advocacy efforts. E-FACT provides booksellers in the 42 states that collect sales tax but do not have e-fairness legislation with state-specific template letters calling for e-fairness that can be sent to their state legislators and governor.

As states ring in the new year faced with significant budget shortfalls, it is clear that e-fairness will be a major focus in 2010. With a tremendous opportunity to win a significant victory for sales tax equity around the country, the American Booksellers Association has launched a new E-Fairness Action Kit (E-FACT) that provides booksellers with crucial, state-specific tools to help them in their e-fairness outreach efforts.

The issue of sales tax revenue declines has become a top priority for many states. Just this past week, there were a number of news articles and editorials about how states are looking to stave off these declines, as well as a report from California on how out-of-state online retailers' ability to sell items without collecting sales tax helped put one bookstore out of business.

Faced with budget shortfalls, state governments will be looking at different ways to increase sales and use tax revenue, according to the white paper "The Impact of the Loss of State Sales and Use Tax Revenue", which was recently released by CCH, a provider of tax, accounting, and audit information, software, and services.

Most retailers have been hurt by the ongoing recession, but there is one retail sector that appears immune to the struggling economy: Internet retailers.

On Friday, November 27, the New York Times' lead editorial urged other states that collect sales tax to follow New York's example and pass e-fairness legislation.

This week, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) released a report that calls into question Amazon.com's justifications for opposing e-fairness legislation that has been passed or introduced in a number of states.

On Thursday, November 5, Frank Kramer, owner emeritus of Harvard Book Store and co-chair of Cambridge Local First, spoke in favor of e-fairness at a public meeting on tax policy held in Cambridge by the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Revenue.

Faced with significant education and general budget shortfalls, officials in Alabama are examining the possibility of bringing the state into compliance with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA) to recoup an estimated $104 million that could be lost in 2009 to remote online retailers, as reported by the Alabama Press-Register.