Advocacy

On February 1, Amazon will begin collecting and remitting sales tax in North Carolina. The news is not only a victory for sales tax fairness proponents, but also for the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

ABA is calling on booksellers to provide either a written or video testimonial in support of federal sales tax fairness legislation, which the association will then share with the House Judiciary Committee before legislative hearings on the issue begin.

On January 7, some 300 signatories representing more than three million businesses, associations, and organizations wrote to Rep. Bob Goodlatte, chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary, calling for action on sales tax fairness legislation.

With the new year, the Affordable Care Act’s health care tax credit for small businesses will increase from 35 percent to a maximum of 50 percent. The credit is meant to encourage small businesses and tax-exempt organizations to begin offering health insurance coverage to their employees or to maintain the coverage they already have.

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to not hear a legal challenge brought by Amazon and Overstock regarding New York State’s affiliate nexus law, editorials in newspapers across the country have urged states and/or the U.S. Congress to turn sales tax fairness from an idea into a reality.

Late last week, the White House announced that it was delaying by one year online enrollment in the federally operated Small Business Health Options (SHOP) health insurance exchanges.

The Holiday Children’s Book Art Auction, sponsored by ABFFE and the ABC Children’s Group at ABA, closed on Tuesday afternoon, but not before hitting a new high and raising more than $10,000 to help defend the free speech rights of kids.

In response to what ABFFE President Chris Finan called “one of the most egregious cases of book banning in many years,” ABFFE joined  the Freedom to Read Foundation, the American Library Association, and several literacy and free speech organizations in filing an amicus brief in a case involving the removal of books that were used in the Mexican American Studies program in Tucson schools.

On Monday, December 2, in a resounding victory for sales tax fairness proponents, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would not hear a legal challenge to New York State’s affiliate nexus law, which was brought by Amazon.com and Overstock.com.

An auction of more than 70 pieces of art created for children’s books launched on eBay at noon EST today, November 26. The Holiday Children’s Book Art Auction features many original works and high-quality prints by leading artists and illustrators.

As the White House continues to address problems on the Affordable Care Act website, local health care navigators have told Reuters that they are seeing gradual improvements on HealthCare.gov.

In a November 22 BusinessWeek op-ed, the co-chairs of Advocates for Independent Business, ASTRA’s  Kathleen McHugh and ABA’s Oren Teicher, urge the U.S. House of Representatives to consider the issue of sales tax fairness and “act swiftly to tackle it.”

In response to the news that Amazon has struck an exclusive deal with the USPS, ABA has published a fact sheet for members that provides important details pertaining to how the postal service differs from a traditional private enterprise.

Uneven sales tax collection has helped online retailers at the expense of Main Street retailers, according to the study “An Analysis of Internet Sales Taxation and the Small-Seller Exemption,” released this week by the Small Business Administration.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression is urging booksellers, artists, and other supporters of the free speech rights of kids to help promote its latest auction of children’s book art.