EBay-Led Group of Online Sellers Lobbies Congress Against Marketplace Fairness Act

An eBay-led group of the company’s sellers used their annual meetings Wednesday and Thursday on Capitol Hill partially to lobby against the Marketplace Fairness Act (S-698) and the Remote Transactions Parity Act (HR-2775) because both bills would be harmful to small businesses, eBay said in a statement. EBay said it isn’t opposed to all online sales tax legislation but has qualms with HR-2775 and S-698. Both HR-2775 and S-698 would allow states to collect sales taxes from companies without a physical presence in the state, though HR-2775 also includes additional pro-seller exemptions and protections. The Senate passed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (HR-644) in February with language from the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act intact after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., promised to allow Senate consideration of S-698 this year (see 1602100061 and 1602110056). The eBay sellers said via Twitter that their meetings included ones with Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., who have both opposed S-698.