Advocacy

On Tuesday, a group of U.S. senators reintroduced the Marketplace Fairness Act, a bill that would level the playing field for Main Street retailers.

On March 5, the European Union’s top court ruled that EU countries must charge the full value-added tax on e-books. The court found that e-books are not subject to the same tax reductions as physical books, as they are considered a service.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling that sent a challenge to a Colorado use tax law back to federal court has sparked hope among proponents of e-fairness.

In the first installment of a new monthly column on free speech issues, ABFE Director Chris Finan expresses his opinions about the toll on our freedoms in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and voices his hope that moving forward we will not be governed by panic.

The U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York has ruled in favor of a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit brought against American Express Company and American Express Travel Related Services Company for violating antitrust laws by imposing “anti-steering” rules on merchants.

At Winter Institute 10, Publishers Weekly presented ABFE with a check for $13,600, a portion of the money raised by PW's Tribute to Freedom of Expression in its January 19 issue.

Booksellers who have been providing health insurance to their employees should remember that the Affordable Care Act includes federal tax credits for small businesses.

The American Booksellers for Free Expression is supporting an effort to overturn a new Pennsylvania law that gives victims of violent crime the power to silence the speech of the criminals who hurt them.

Independent businesses experienced strong sales growth in 2014 as more consumers embraced the “buy local” movement and ditched big companies in favor of supporting local retailers and small-scale producers, according to the 2015 Independent Business Survey, conducted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in partnership with Advocates for Independent Business.

The Children’s Book Council CBC Diversity Initiative has launched the “It’s Possible” blog series, featuring five publishing professionals sharing their memories of working with Walter Dean Myers, the late children’s book author and advocate for literary diversity.

Amazon will begin collecting and remitting sales tax in Illinois beginning February 1 as part of a deal the online retailer struck with state officials in October 2014.

U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Chair Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) has circulated draft sales tax fairness legislation that would ask most states to radically change their sales tax systems, according to media reports.

On Thursday, January 15, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed the recently passed Main Street Fairness legislation into law, thereby leveling the playing field for the state’s Main Street retailers.

In the wake of the horrifying massacre of the staff of Charlie Hebdo, ABFE Director Chris Finan looks at the courage it takes to stand up for free speech and the challenges facing booksellers.

As part of a social media campaign launched on Monday by ABA and ABFE, booksellers around the country are demonstrating both their solidarity with the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack and their support for free speech.