Friday, January 30, 2015

New Remote Sales Tax Simplification Bill Less Onerous Than MFA or State Initiatives

According to the American Catalog Mailers Association [all text is quoted from ACMA]: "Although some remote sellers would prefer to see the 1992 Quill v. North Dakota sales tax precedent remain intact indefinitely, last year nearly ushered in the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA). If passed, it would have been devastating. Fortunately, ACMA – and the TruST coalition we cofounded – fought hard so that enough lawmakers realized the Senate-passed MFA would have disastrous effects – and the House did not act.

"Unfortunately, our assessment is that Quill won’t hold up for much longer. Furthermore, in the absence of clarifying federal legislation, states are becoming increasingly creative and aggressive, ushering in the potential for a patchwork of contradictory state laws with the need to fight a multi-front war. 

"ACMA’s position has been to deal with this reality, working to find the best way towards 'fairness.' Throughout the past year, TruST and ACMA worked closely with Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.-6th), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, on an MFA alternative. On January 12th, the Chairman began circulating adiscussion draft. You may prefer to read a section-by-section analysis the Chairman is also circulating. While not perfect, this bill is far better for catalogers than MFA.

Industry Must Step Up Now
"I’m coming to you for your support. When we launched TruST nearly three years ago, we received enough industry funding allowing TruST to stop the MFA freight train in favor of common sense. We used our contributions carefully, making them last twice as long as projected. We have now exhausted this money. Meanwhile, backed by Amazon and big-box retail, MFA proponents are gearing up to launch a new version of their flawed bill.

"Without your support, we can’t have continued success. So please go to ACMA’s Action Funds web page and make a significant donation today. Any amount you can muster will help. $25,000 or more will give you an (optional) seat on TruST’s steering committee."

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