A report critical of the Marketplace Fairness Act's small business exemption that was released last week by the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council garnered significant media attention. A variety of political and trade press - including The Hill, Politico, Accounting Today, Tax-News, Bloomberg Businessweek, and WebProNews - covered the release. Below are some highlights from the coverage:

The Hill's Kate Tummarello wrote:

"An online sales tax bill will disproportionately hurt minorities and women who own small businesses, the Minority Media Telecommunications Council (MMTC) said Tuesday. During a Tuesday press call, MMTC Vice President Nicol Turner-Lee criticized the Marketplace Fairness Act - passed by the Senate earlier this year and awaiting consideration in the House - saying its small business exemption of $1 million is inadequate to protect minorities and women... The paper was authored by Jon Orszag, who served as economic adviser to former President Clinton, and commissioned by eBay, a vocal opponent of online sales tax bills, including the Marketplace Fairness Act."

Politico's Morning Tax tipsheet covered the impact the MMTC report might have in Congress:

"With support building for the online sales tax legislation, the definition of small sellers has become a major sticking point for House Republicans - some who have been debating the need for a higher same-seller exemption for businesses. When House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte released his principals on the bill last month, he supported ditching the $ 1 million exemption in favor of making the legislation so simple no one would need it.

In addition, Michael Cohn of Accounting Today reported about some of Orszag's recommendations for improving the small business exemption:

"Orszag's paper recommended that any small business safe harbor in the MFA use the existing small business definitions in federal law and existing Small Business Administration regulations, concluding that such a definition would be "less likely to harm" small minority- and women-owned businesses."