Advocacy

While California and Louisiana moved sales tax fairness bills forward this week, Texas and South Carolina blinked in their showdowns with Amazon.com.

ABA and other members of the Campaign for Reader Privacy expressed disappointment at last week’s decision by Congress to reauthorize expiring provisions of the USA Patriot Act without restoring safeguards to protect the privacy of bookstore and library records.

Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, long-time member of the Media Coalition, and member and chair of the Board of the National Coalition Against Censorship, has been named the recipient of the American Library Association’s 2011 Freedom to Read Foundation  Roll of Honor Award.

The campaign for sales tax fairness has heated up in key states where Amazon.com has or is planning to open warehouse or distribution facilities.

ABA has joined with eight organizations, including the Main Street Alliance and the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association, in asking Congressional leadership to oppose any attempt to delay swipe fee reform, which is set to take effect in July.

ABA is urging booksellers to immediately contact members of the U.S. House of Representatives to oppose a bill that extends provisions of the USA Patriot Act for six years without restoring safeguards to protect the privacy of bookstore and library records.

From May 2 to May 4, ABA President Michael Tucker and President-elect Becky Anderson, together with association CEO Oren Teicher and COO Len Vlahos, met with 14 publishers in New York City.

Sales tax fairness successes continued this week as an attempt to repeal a sales tax fairness law in Colorado failed and the Texas Senate Finance Committee unanimously passed sales tax fairness legislation.

As part of ABA’s continuing commitment to fostering relationships among independent businesses of all kinds, CEO Oren Teicher will be part of a panel discussion during Independent’s Day at the National Hardware Show on Thursday, May 12, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This week, ABA CEO Oren Teicher called on South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to support efforts to clarify existing tax laws to require companies with broad networks of online affiliates to collect and remit sales tax to the state.

On Wednesday, May 4, the Pennsylvania Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on sales tax fairness. Committee members heard testimony from both opponents and supporters of efforts to ensure that all retailers collect sales tax for online sales.

On Wednesday, May 4,  Connecticut Gov. Dannell Malloy signed a state budget into law that includes an affiliate nexus provision requiring remote retailers with broad networks of online affiliates in the state to collect and remit sales tax.

Attacks on the free speech rights of children will be the focus of two events on Wednesday, May 25, at BEA. At the first, authors Laurie Halse Anderson and Robie Harris will join librarian Pat Scales for “Book Banning 2011: A Report From the Front Lines of the Battle for Free Speech,” moderated by Joan Bertin of the National Coalition Against Censorship.

Independent bookstores and other bricks-and-mortar retailers scored a victory yesterday when the South Carolina House of Representatives defeated an amendment to H3488 that would have given Amazon.com a special sales tax exemption.

Late last week, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced a budget deal that includes an affiliate nexus tax. In Texas, a sales tax fairness bill introduced by Rep. John Otto overwhelmingly passed the Texas House.