Sales Tax Initiative

When Utah State Rep. Mike McKell withdrew an affiliate nexus sales tax fairness bill, ABA President Betsy Burton, the co-owner of The King’s English Bookshop, responded with an op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Booksellers can now watch videos of three Winter Institute 11 sessions on the New Localism movement: “Amazon and Empty Storefronts,” “City Growth and Downtown Math,” and “The New Localism.”

This week, ABA launched a national advocacy campaign with letters urging the U.S. Congress, the 50 state attorneys general, and the 50 state governors to investigate Amazon for violations of antitrust laws.

On February 22, a federal appeals court overturned a lower court ruling that blocked Colorado from enforcing a law requiring out-of-state retailers to report use tax information to consumers and the Colorado Department of Revenue.

Resources offering a wide range of information on Amazon and its effect on Main Street retailers can now be found in one place on BookWeb.org.

At last week’s Winter Institute, Civic Economics and ABA released a groundbreaking new study, “Amazon and Empty Storefronts,” which details the overall negative impact that Amazon has had on Main Street retailers and jobs, and the communities in which they are located, across the country.

A recently updated study by Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business drives home the point that the competitive advantage Amazon gained from not charging sales tax was as significant as Main Street retailers claimed — if not more so.

A fact sheet released by Advocates for Independent Business and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance provides eye-opening data that reveals how tax incentives and other assistance provided by local governments to Amazon does more harm than good to local economies.

Starting October 1, Amazon and other online retailers with nexus in Michigan are required to collect and remit the state’s six percent sales tax.

Independent bookstores in the nation’s capital are urging Mayor Muriel Bowser to level the playing field for Main Street retailers by requiring remote sellers such as Amazon to collect and remit sales tax.

Advocates for Independent Business, a coalition of trade associations and other organizations representing locally owned, independent businesses, is cheering a new accounting rule requiring local and state governments to annually disclose the amount of tax breaks they give to corporations in the name of economic development.

Texas-Amazon sales tax deal beneficial to state; Bodleian Library Publishing launches children’s imprint; Macmillan’s Sargent promoted at Holtzbrinck; Vatican official translates Diary of a Wimpy Kid into Latin; Columbia University Press to cease distribution of Dalkey Archive; Bookmasters signs distribution deals with Paragon House, Flame Tree Publishing

On June 19, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal vetoed a bill that would have leveled the playing field for the state’s Main Street retailers. H.B. 555 required remote retailers with a broad network of affiliates in the state to collect and remit sales tax in the state.

On Monday, June 29, at 6:30 p.m. ET, the Alliance for Main Street Fairness, a coalition of small business owners, local retailers, and Main Street supporters, will be hosting a conference call to discuss the Remote Transaction Parity Act.

ABA’s updated E-Fairness Map provides visual proof that more states than not are taking strides to level the playing field for Main Street retailers.