Sales Tax Initiative

This week, Florida’s St. Petersburg Times and Tampa Tribune published op-eds by Inkwood Books co-owner Carla Jimenez, who calls on state lawmakers to level the playing field by passing a sales tax fairness law similar to the ones passed in other states, including California, Illinois, and New York.

Earlier this month, state Sen. Randy McNally and Rep. Charles Sargent sought the Tennessee Attorney General’s legal opinion as to whether companies that maintain warehouse or distribution facilities in the state are already required to collect and remit sales tax under current sales tax laws.

This week, ABA CEO Oren Teicher wrote to Senators Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine to urge them to support the Main Street Fairness Act. In a recent news article, Sen. Snowe said she opposed the federal sales tax fairness legislation and Sen. Collins expressed doubts.

On Friday, July 29, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Main Street Fairness Act, federal sales tax fairness legislation that would authorize states under the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA) to require remote retailers to collect and remit sales tax in those states.

This week, ABA CEO Oren Teicher shares an update on association activities with members. Last month, ABA President Becky Anderson wrote the membership, and, moving ahead, she and Teicher will alternate each month with updates about the association's activities.

The California Board of Equalization (BOE) has voted to begin the rulemaking process for sales tax fairness legislation (AB 28X), signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown at the end of June.

As Amazon.com begins collecting signatures for a referendum vote to overturn California’s sales tax fairness law, the drumbeat of editorials, columns, and op-eds lambasting Amazon for seeking a voter referendum to protect its tax loophole grows louder.

On Tuesday, July 19, Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed legislation that makes clear that companies that have warehouses in the state, such as Amazon.com, must collect and remit sales tax.

The California Attorney General’s office has ruled that Amazon.com is legally permitted to seek a voter referendum to overturn sales tax fairness legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in late June.

In a slew of recent editorials, columns, and op-eds, Amazon.com is being skewered for its attempts to avoid collecting and remitting California sales tax.