eBay on Internet Taxes: “Small Retailers Should Not be Harmed”

April 20, 2011

Brian Bieron, eBay Senior Director of Federal Affairs, was quoted this week in an interview with [subscription-based] Washington Internet Daily.  Commenting on previous iterations of pending Internet sales tax legislation, Bieron shared that eBay was particularly unsatisfied with the "small seller exemption" of last year’s version of the bill. 

The legislation offered a "small seller exemption" that would exempt qualifying companies from the tax.  But the legislation gave the SSTGB, a non-government entity, the authority to set the levels that determine which Internet businesses would be exempt from the tax, said Bieron.

"We found that to be exceptionally objectionable and anti-small retailer," he said. "The key issue is that small retailers should not be harmed. Any change in the law ought to distinguish between giant retailer business models and small retailer business models."  Read eBay Inc.’s full position on new online sales taxes.