GOP Wins Muddle Long-Term E-Fairness Outlook

With Republicans taking control of the U.S. Senate in January 2015 and increasing their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, the outlook for e-fairness legislation at the federal level is now muddled, at best. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is on record as opposing e-fairness, having voted “No” for the Marketplace Fairness Act in May 2013.

However, according to the Main Street Fairness Coalition, the lame-duck session of Congress still offers the best opportunity to pass federal sales tax fairness legislation.

“We’ve made great strides and still have momentum in our campaign for federal sales tax fairness legislation,” stressed ABA CEO Oren Teicher. “And for that reason, the next two months represent our chance to finally get Congress to act. Let’s not lose this opportunity. It will be a challenge, but we can still win this campaign. I understand that this campaign has been a long one, and that this is a very busy time of year. However, this will not happen without the strong support of ABA member booksellers. It’s critical that every bookseller reach out to their legislator and make their support for e-fairness known. Now is the time to act.”

Of the 36 Senate seats up for grabs, 10 Democratic and 11 Republican incumbents won their seats, including Marketplace Fairness Act co-sponsor, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), as reported by USA Today. The Republicans picked up seven Senate seats to take control of the Senate in January 2015, including Democratically held seats in Iowa, Colorado, Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota, West Virginia, and North Carolina, according to the Washington Post. There are currently two Senate races that are still undecided: Louisiana and Alaska. And in a close vote, Democrat Mark Warner beat Republican Ed Gillespie in Virginia.  

In the House, the GOP won an additional 10 seats, at least, the Post reported.

The GOP also did well in the gubernatorial races, winning in some traditionally blue states. Republican Bruce Rauner was elected governor of Illinois, Republican Larry Hogan was voted governor of Maryland, and Massachusetts residents voted for Republican Charlie Baker as governor, as reported by CNN.com.