While the current state of our economy has negatively impacted many of our American heroes, Internet commerce has created new opportunities for our Veterans. This burgeoning world of small web-enabled merchants is opening up new opportunities for Veterans returning home from war, and those retiring after years of service. If passed, the proposed Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) will implement an online sales tax system that will unnecessarily burden these small businesses. Recently, a study released by renowned economist Jon Orszag, and the Minority Media Telecommunications Council (MMTC), stated that the $1 million small business exemption in the MFA would be especially harmful to small businesses owned by minorities, women, and Veterans. These individuals make up the main contingency of small business owners who would be left unprotected.

Web-enabled businesses create new opportunities for veterans

Veteran Chase Robbins has experienced first-hand the opportunity that the Internet presents for entrepreneurship. In 2001, he was stationed at Fort Knox, in Louisville, KY serving in the U.S. Army. Unfortunately, Chase was unexpectedly injured and medically discharged from the military. Because of his wife's job, the decided to stay in the area, where Chase was presented with the challenge of finding a new job. The Internet marketplace was growing quickly, so he and his business partner developed their own e-commerce website, thus launching Apex Motorsports, Inc. Though the business experienced impressive growth, it is still undeniably small with only a few employees. Currently Apex Motorsports would be left unprotected form the compliance burdens of the Marketplace Fairness Act and Chase is just one of the many veterans whose livelihood would be threatened by the proposed MFA.

Web-enabled businesses are crucial for veterans who work as full-time parents

As a single mother to a young son with special needs, U.S. Army veteran Brandi Tolley found herself struggling to provide for her son financially as she tried to find adequate time to dedicate to him while working for the state of Illinois. She needed flexible hours, as well as income to take her son cross-country to visit his estranged father. She began sorting through her closets and selling some gently worn clothing online, and from there, Buy Big from Brandi was born. The flexible hours and financial opportunities afforded by operating her own online business have allowed Brandi to spend more time with her new husband and three young children.