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Press Release: Jewelers of America (JA), the national trade association for businesses serving the fine jewelry marketplace, welcomes the U.S. Senate’s introduction of the Marketplace and Internet Tax Fairness Act (MITFA) and supports ongoing bipartisan efforts in the Senate to push for both chambers of Congress to pass efairness legislation. The association has fought hard for the legislation, which would finally close an Internet sales tax loophole that has hurt traditional jewelry businesses. “MITFA combines two critical bills – the Marketplace Fairness Act with the Internet Tax Freedom Act – the latter of which the House passed a version of earlier this week,” said Dave Bonaparte, JA's president and CEO. “Jewelers of America applauds the efforts of Senators Mike Enzi (Republican from Wyoming), Dick Durbin (Democrat from Illinois), Lamar Alexander (Republican from Tennessee), Heidi Heitkamp (Democrat from North Dakota), Susan Collins (Republican from Maine) and Mark Pryor (Democrat from Alaska) – all longtime champions of efairness legislation. They are sending a message that Congress must pass sales tax fairness legislation once and for all. We are hopeful that this will keep efairness legislation top-of-mind and lead to full passage by the end of this year.” The Marketplace and Internet Tax Fairness Act gives states the option to require the collection of sales and use taxes already owed under state law by out-of-state businesses, rather than rely on consumers to remit those taxes to the states. Currently, brick-and-mortar businesses collect sales and use taxes from customers who make purchases in their stores, but many online and remote retailers do not. If passed by both chambers of Congress and enacted into law, the measure would give states the option to require the collection of these taxes by out-of-state sellers if the state simplifies their sales and use tax systems. MITFA would also extend for 10 years the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which prohibits state and local taxation of Internet access and multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
JA is a longtime proponent of sales tax fairness, supporting efforts to enact legislation on the federal and state levels. The association has been guided in its efforts by its legislative counsel, Washington D.C.-based Haake & Associates. JA is also a member of the Marketplace Fairness Coalition, a group of businesses and associations that support e-fairness. Just last month, JA leadership and its political action committee, JAPAC, held meetings on Capitol Hill with key legislators in support of efairness and other issues critical to jewelers. JAPAC is the only political action committee that supports the fine jewelry industry in Washington, D.C. To learn more, visit www.jewelers.org/japac/.
Those interested in this issue and others affecting jewelry businesses can use JA's Legislative Advocacy Center, at www.jewelers.org/advocacycenter, to easily contact their representatives via email and urge them to support sales tax fairness today. About Jewelers of America:
Jewelers of America (JA) is the national trade association for businesses serving the fine jewelry marketplace, with the primary purpose of improving consumer confidence in the jewelry industry. JA’s consumer education arm, Jewelry Information Center (JIC), has provided public relations and marketing services on behalf of the fine jewelry and watch industry since 1946. Visit www.jewelers.org and www.JIC.org for more information.
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