In response to Amazon’s price app promo, Betsy Burton of The King’s English penned a Letter to the Editor of the Salt Lake Tribune. She’s encouraging other booksellers to do the same in order to capitalize on the recent media attention to focus on why indies matter.
ABA CEO Oren Teicher has written an open letter to Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos that highlights the glaring discrepancy between the company’s recent statements in support of sales tax fairness and Amazon’s latest exploitation of an inequitable strategic advantage.
A December 1 Pennsylvania Department of Revenue regulatory bulletin makes it clear that under existing sales tax laws remote sellers with nexus in the state through warehouses or online affiliates are required to collect and remit sales tax for purchases made in state.
The International Council of Shopping Centers has placed full-page ads in support of sales tax equity in a number of publications, including the New York Times. In addition, the organization has launched a sales tax fairness video series, with the first featuring Betsy Burton of The King’s English Bookshop.
At press time, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue issued a regulatory bulletin stipulating that, under current sales tax law, remote retailers that have warehouse facilities or online affiliates in Pennsylvania have nexus in the state.
Cynthia Compton of 4 Kids Books & Toys in Zionsville, Indiana, was one of about 40 retailers taking part in a November 16 sales tax advocacy day in Washington, D.C., organized by the Alliance for Main Street Fairness.
With the movement to pass a national sales tax fairness bill gaining momentum in Congress, BTW asked three booksellers who participated in ABA’s recent Sales Tax Fairness Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., about their experiences and the importance of meeting with legislators.
Both the U.S. Senate’s Marketplace Fairness Act and the House’s Marketplace Equity Act, which would provide states with the authority to require remote sellers to collect and remit sales tax in the state, include small-seller exemptions.
Late last week, Simon Property Group, the largest mall owner in the country, filed a lawsuit against the state of Indiana in an effort to get the state to require Amazon.com to collect and remit sales tax on orders by Indiana residents.
ABA welcomed this week’s introduction in the Senate of the Marketplace Fairness Act, legislation that would provide states with authorization to require remote sellers to collect and remit state sales tax, as an important step toward a national sales tax fairness solution.
