Last week, the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) came to Capitol Hill to lobby Members of Congress on the importance of passing Internet sales tax legislation.  For over a decade, the NCSL has supported changing current law so that remote retailers across the country would have to collect and remit sales taxes in over 9600 tax jurisdictions, regardless if they have physical presence in that state.

This week eBay is participating in a series of meetings on Capitol Hill to advocate for owners’ rights and encourage Congress to protect the ability of American consumers and businesses to resell the legitimate, authentic goods that they own. The meetings with leaders from the House and Senate were organized by the Owners’ Rights Initiative (ORI), a coalition of businesses and associations that believe that if you buy something, you own it and should have the right to resell it, lend it, or give it away.

Last week, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) filed an amendment to the National Defense bill that would have added the Marketplace Fairness Act, requiring small online retailers to collect and remit sales taxes in over 9600 jurisdictions nationwide.  eBay Inc., along with representatives from the technology and taxpayer advocate communities, publicly opposed this amendment.  Brian Bieron, Senior Director of Federal Government Relations at eBay Inc., made the following statement

A number of technology groups have expressed their opposition to attaching an Internet sales tax amendment filed by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) to the National Defense bill currently being debated in the U.S. Senate. Online retail is currently a bright spot in our nation’s economy and representatives from the Tech community are concerned about the potential negative impact this amendment could have on small online retailers if it were to be enacted into law.  Please read below for the full statements from CCIA, TechAmerica and TechNet: