On Thursday, July 24th at 1pm, eBay Inc. and the Department of Commerce will host a free webinar to discuss on some of the technical solutions that have been created in the last few years that make exporting easier for small technology enabled businesses.
Yesterday, the TruST Coalition sent a letter to Senate leadership expressing strong opposition to attaching the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act to the important extension of the Internet Tax Freedom Act. TruST Members include the American Catalog Mailers Association, NetChoice, the Direct Marketing Association and the Electronic Retailing Association.
To read the letter, please visit the TruST website.
Yesterday, a group of bipartisan Senators sent a letter to Senate leaders urging them to extend the Internet Tax Freedom Bill without the Marketplace Fairness Act. The Senators included Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Rand Paul (R-KY).
Earlier this week, eBay Inc. filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on their Open Internet proceedings. In May of this year, the FCC proposed a federal rule in an effort to find a solution to the net neutrality and Open Internet debate. Due to the fact that the proposed rule would affect consumers, organizations and businesses across the country, the FCC requested the public submit comments explaining any concerns with the proposal.
In response to the House passage of the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act yesterday, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, congratulated the House on passing the bipartisan legislation.
“The Internet Tax Freedom Act enabled the growth of a flourishing digital economy and hundreds of thousands of new, good-paying jobs. In my view, when you have something that works, that has stood the test of time, you ought to make it permanent,” Wyden said.
Yesterday evening, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that the Senate would be attaching the Marketplace Fairness Act to the Internet Tax Freedom Act that is pending in the Senate. This news comes hours after the House passed a clean and permanent extension of the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which bans state and local taxes on Internet access.
"Why wouldn't we?" said Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), one of the original sponsors of the Marketplace Fairness Act. "They're a perfect fit."