Tech Trade Association Warns of Threat of Lame Duck Session

October 10, 2014

Last week, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) published a blog that warned of the threat of the Senate passed Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) moving after the midterm elections. Prior to leaving for the October recess, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) expressed his intention to use the post-election lame duck session to pass a bill that would require small Internet-enabled businesses to collect and remit sales taxes in every tax jurisdiction across the country. The Senate intends to use the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) as a vehicle to pass the MFA.

Last week, the Senate passed a  stopgap spending bill that included an extension of ITFA until December 11, which means Congress will have to take up the bill again after the election, providing an opportunity to pass the MFA by the end of the year. In their blog post, CCIA writes that “supporters of the Marketplace Fairness Act MFA will seek to coerce members of the House into passing a much more controversial bill that has very little to do with the issue of the moratorium.”

Read more of the CCIA blog post.