eBay Main Street

Tod Cohen, Vice President for Government Relations and Deputy General Counsel at eBay Inc., made the following statement upon the introduction of the ‘Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA)’ by Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL): “This is another Internet sales tax bill that fails to protect small business retailers using the Internet and will unbalance the playing field between giant retailers and small business competitors. It does not make sense to expand Internet sales tax burdens on small businesses at a time when we want entrepreneurs to create jobs and economic activity”.

Technology trade associations, Tech America and TechNet, issued separate statements last week to announce support for S.Res. 309, which declares Internet entrepreneurs and small businesses should be protected from new sales tax burdens. Read more.

eBay Inc. applauds the most recent cosponsor of H.Res. 95, supporting the "Preservation of Internet Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses." Congressman Ander Crenshaw (FL-4) has joined the bipartisan effort to oppose new tax requirements on small e-tailers. eBay commends Crenshaw’s leadership and dedication to protecting small online businesses in this economic environment. Read eBay Inc.’s position on the Internet sales tax issue here or read H.Res 95 in its entirety.

Earlier this week, Pete Sepp, Executive Vice President of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), made a statement of support upon the introduction of S.Res. 309. Senator Wyden introduced S.Res. 309 to encourage protections for small Internet retailers from new sales tax burdens. NTU is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting lower taxes and smaller government. The organization has been a strong advocate for Internet retailers in the debate over online sales tax policies. Click here to read NTU’s full statement on the introduction of S.Res. 309. Read more.

eBay’s Government Relations team hosted Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) on a tour of eBay Inc.’s North campus in San Jose, California last week. The tour provided Senator Hoeven, who was elected to the Senate in 2010, with an overview of eBay’s network operations, and an opportunity to learn more about e-commerce. The group also discussed some of the federal policy issues facing the eBay community, including federal Internet sales tax legislation. The Senator was especially interested in how Internet sales tax policies impact the more than 1,200 Top Sellers in his home state of North Dakota. Read more.

eBay is a proud supporter of the Department of Broadband, Communications, and the Digital Economy campaign to promote safe and smart online shopping in preparation for the holiday season. The campaign is part of the Australian Government’s Stay Smart Online initiative. The initiative provides information for Australian Internet users on simple steps they can take to protect their personal and financial information online. Read more.

Today in the U.S. Senate, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) introduced a bipartisan resolution “Supporting the Preservation of Internet Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses.” This resolution clearly expresses opposition to states imposing new tax burdens on small businesses on the Internet, including requirements to collect and remit sales taxes for out-of-state online purchases. Read more.

The stated purpose of the Main Street Fairness Act is to “level the playing field” between online sellers and traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers by requiring online sellers to collect sales taxes on purchases from states where the seller has no physical presence. The reality of the bill is that it would impose unfair and disproportionate collection burdens on exactly the sort of small businesses that lawmakers say are vital to the economic recovery. Read more of the opinion editorial featured in Oklahoma’s Edmonds Sun newspaper this week.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) provides affordable shipping alternatives for many small businesses, especially eBay buyers and sellers.Email growth and the economic downturn have triggered a dramatic reduction in mail volume, while E-commerce has helped offset the decline by generating increasing numbers of goods for delivery.eBay supports financial relief for the USPS. Members of Congress are expected to consider reforms to the USPS in the near future. Please join thousands of eBay buyers and sellers and sign your name to our letter urging Members of Congress to support a reformed postal system that offers competitive and affordable shipping alternatives.

U.S. Congressman Jim Matheson (D-Utah) and his Chief of Staff, Meg Joseph, met last week with eBay’s Vice President of Customer Service, Scott Murray, and the Draper, Utah, executive team. Murray presented a detailed overview of how eBay is growing and changing, both globally and in Utah. Read more.