Brick-and-Mortar Backers Push MFA/IFTA Combo

Backers of the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) are putting on a full-court press in Washington to try and get the bill passed in the lame duck Congress in combination with a temporary renewal of the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA).  

That "press" includes local and state government officials—mayors and governors among them—gathering for an event Dec. 3 at the Capitol Visitors Center to call on Congress to "stop stalling and take up Marketplace Fairness," according to a PR firm promoting the event.   

It also includes TV ads from the Alliance for Mainstreet Fairness and the National Retail Federation airing in Washington that warn about the impact on brick-and-mortar retailers of not applying a sales tax to online retailers. That message includes the warning that small businesses will be threatened by online giants like China's Alibaba.com, complete with images of a Santa in front of a store with an "everything must go" sign and a mom and pop pie-making operation.

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John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.