eBay Inc. CEO meets Australian Parliamentarians

During his visit to Australia last week, eBay Inc CEO John Donahoe met with Australian members of Parliament including Malcolm Turnbull, Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband; Senator Arthur Sinodinis, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition and Paul Fletcher, Co-Chair, Coalition Friends for the Digital Economy.
Government Relations Team Engages Local Dallas Meet-Up Group on Internet Sales Tax

Last week Sharon McBride, Director of External Affairs & Operations for eBay’s Global Government Relations team, visited the local Dallas eBaybes & eMales eBay seller meet-up group to inform and activate local Texas sellers on the issue of Internet sales tax.
eBay Inc. Government Relations attends Annual NACHA Payments Conference

Last week eBay Inc. Federal Govt. Relations representative Ali Gabel attended the 37th annual NACHA Conference in San Diego. The three day conference focused on the future of electronic payments and offered the opportunity to reach a wide audience of financial institutions, corporate, government and electronic technology provider decision-makers.
Video: eBay Inc.'s Brian Bieron Debates Internet Sales Tax with NRF on PBS

Gwen Ifill looks at the Internet sales tax debate with Brian Bieron of eBay Inc. and the National Retail Federation's Rachelle Bernstein.  Watch the debate.
Personalisation – Customer Service of the 21st Century

eBay Inc’s Public Policy lab today welcomed the release of a report by the Centre for Internet Safety, based at the University of Canberra titled: “Personalisation: managing consumer choice and privacy”
eBay Inc. Attends World Trade Organisation Workshop

Hanne Melin of eBay’s Policy Lab reports on two-days of interesting discussions at the World Trade Organisation Workshop on E-Commerce, Development and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Expresses Concern for Small Online Retailers

Last week, on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) rose in opposition to the Internet sales tax bill that is currently being considered by the Senate.  During his remarks, Leader McConnell explained that this legislation would create a new tax regime that would give states new powers to force small online retailers to comply with their laws, even if they don’t have any connection or presence in that state.  But by imposing this new Internet Tax, states would comply with all the different tax codes of all the states in which their customers reside.  He expressed concern that this new state power would be a huge burden to any small business with an online presence and announced that he would not be supporting the bill.
Chairman Baucus (D-MT) Rises in Strong Opposition to Internet Sales Tax Bill

Over the past few days, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has been on the Senate floor multiple times to express his opposition to the Internet sales tax legislation that is currently being debated in the U.S. Senate.
Senator Hatch (R-UT) Offers an Amendment to Raise the Small Seller Exception to $10 Million

Yesterday, Senator Hatch (R-UT) filed an amendment that includes seven improvements to the Internet sales tax bill currently on the Senate floor.  Not only does the amendment include a provision that sunsets the new Internet sales tax regime in five years, it includes a provision that raises the small seller exception from $1 million in total remote sales to $10 million.
Op-ed: Congress should not burden small businesses

Tod Cohen, vice president and deputy general counsel of government relations at eBay Inc., was featured in USA Today and makes the case for why Congress should not burden small businesses by passing the Internet sales tax bill.