On Saturday, August 10 co-owner of scrapbook.com Drex Davis penned an opinion piece for the East Valley Tribune located in Tempe, AZ. In his piece, Drex, who you may already know as the co-founder of the eMainStreet Alliance (a grassroots organization consisting of more than 650 small online retailers who oppose the MFA), was able to highlight the myriad of issues with the Marketplace Fairness Act.

Hal Stevens, a small business owner in Edmond Oklahoma, recently expressed his concerns with the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act to his local newspaper.  In his letter, Mr. Stevens explains that the small seller exception included in the legislation is arbitrary and will not adequately protect businesses, like his own, from becoming “unpaid tax collectors” for thousands of jurisdictions nationwide.  Mr. Stevens also expresses his concern with how the Marketplace Fairness Act will affect his ability to grow, compete and create jobs in the future.

Bobby Housos, owner of Elusive Wildlife in Conroe, Texas, recently submitted a letter to The Courier of Montgomery County expressing his concerns with the Internet sales tax bill that is currently pending in Congress.  Over the past few years, Mr. Housos has had the ability to expand his business operations, even in the midst of the economic downturn.  However, he is concerned about his ability for future growth if the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act becomes law and his business will be forced to become a tax collector for thousands of taxing jurisdictions nationwide.

Last week, Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced the Business Activity Tax Simplification Act, which prohibits states from trying to impose business activity taxes on businesses located outside of their borders.  As more and more sales are transacted over the Internet, businesses both large and small have been affected by a lack of clarity of when a state can impose business activity taxes on an out-of-state business.  This bill would give clarity and certainty for businesses and protect them from the imposition of additional tax burdens.