eBay Main Street

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.

The Direct Marking Association, the leading global trade association of businesses and nonprofit organizations using and supporting multichannel direct marketing tools and techniques, released a statement opposing a new Internet sales tax bill by Congressman Steve Womack (R-AR) and Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA). Read more.

In response to the introduction last week of H.R. 3179, which would impose new sales tax burdens on small Internet-enabled businesses, the National Taxpayers’ Union Executive Vice President Pete Sepp offered a few comments on the proposal. Read more.

StubHub, the world\'s largest ticket marketplace, is deepening its east coast presence with the expansion of its newly remodeled East Granby, CT office. Renovations to the facility will increase StubHub\'s footprint in the state and provide additional job opportunities in the area. The company, which recently hired 30 new full-time employees in East Granby, currently has 25+ openings in customer support, including Customer Support Supervisor roles. StubHub marked the expansion of the facility with a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony on October 19.

eBay Australia demonstrated its ongoing dedication to the National Broadband Network with its recent submission to the NBN\'s Joint Committee. The NBN is part of an Australian government initiative to provide all citizens with access to high-speed broadband. Through this endeavor, Australia aims to become a leader in global digital economy by 2020. Read the full letter written by Sassoon Grigorian, Head of eBay Government Relations for Australia and New Zealand.

eBay Inc. is speaking out against the recent introduction of the Marketplace Equity Act, the latest in a number of legislative attempts to impose new sales taxes on the Internet. eBay’s director of government relations Brian Bieron is raising his voice on behalf of small online retailers around the country. In an article posted yesterday in Politico, Bieron said, “both of the Internet sales tax bills introduced in this Congress fall far short of protecting small business retailers based on existing small business definitions as well as those in previously introduced Internet sales tax bills.” Visit the Politico website to read the entire article.

Tod Cohen, Vice President for Government Relations and Deputy General Counsel at eBay Inc., made the following statement upon the introduction of the ‘Marketplace Equity Act (MEA)’ by Congressman Steve Womack (R-AK) and Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA): “At a time when our economy faces continued challenges with economic growth and jobs, Congress should reject this proposal to expand Internet Sales Taxes because it will hurt entrepreneurial small business retailers and kill jobs. Better policy is proposed by Congressman Dan Lungren (R-CA), Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), and 30 cosponsors that reject new Internet tax burdens on small businesses with their bipartisan resolution, H.Res. 95. Read more.

Ed Black, President and CEO of the Computer & Communications Industry Association has added his voice to those opposing Internet sales tax legislation that would hurt small businesses and e-commerce. In a Detroit Free Press op-ed piece, Black points out that recently proposed tax law is “unwise and untimely, given the nation’s current economic situation,” and he places the responsibility of improving tax codes and sales tax collection on Congress. Read all of Black’s article on the Detroit Free Press website.