The Marketplace Fairness Act (S.743) passed the Senate in May 2013 but the introduced
House version (H.R. 684) has yet to move. The legislation will die if the 113th Congress fails to act before the end of the year.
The League of California Cities
supports this legislation because it would level the playing field between merchants on Main Street and remote sellers such as out-of-state merchants, catalogue operations and online retailers. Under current law, only Main Street merchants are required to collect state and local taxes, giving the other class of retailers a competitive advantage and causing state and local governments nationwide to lose an estimated $23 billion in revenues.
Specifically cities with Republican House representatives are urged to ask them to contact House Speaker John Boehner and request that he allows the House to vote on a bill that combines the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) with a temporary extension of the Internet Tax Freedom Act. City officials should ask Republican members of the California Delegation to support this important legislation. The MFA is not a new tax. It simply allows states and local governments to collect the uncollected sales tax on remote sales that are already owed. These revenues will have a direct impact on the core services delivered by local and state governments.
Take Action
The League requests city officials to contact the following U.S. representatives immediately:
Calls to representatives are more effective when followed up with a letter or email. The League has prepared a
sample MFA support letter cities can use to communicate with their representatives.
Please note that due to security measures, email is the fastest way to reach members of Congress in writing.
The League also requests cities tailor a
sample letter to the editor expressing support of this crucial legislation.
Take the message to social media by using the hash tag #efairness in posts on Twitter and Facebook.
The League is tracking this legislation closely and will be engaging members of Congress. Please let the League know you have reached out to your representative on the MFA so that staff can follow up with your representative.