JA Joins National Coalition Supporting Sales Tax Fairness

(IDEX Online News) – Jewelers of America (JA) has joined the new Marketplace Fairness Coalition, which will serve as a focal point for the business community in the ongoing effort to pass federal e-fairness legislation.

The Coalition, which includes prominent businesses and retail groups – including the National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the International Council of Shopping Centers – officially launched last week as the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 was introduced in the House (H.R. 684) and Senate (S. 336).

The bills give states the option to require the collection of sales and use taxes already owed under state law by out-of-state businesses, rather than relying on consumers to remit those taxes to the states.

Currently, says JA, 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. The bills would give states the option of requiring the collection of these taxes by out-of-state sellers if the state simplifies their sales-and-use tax systems.

“The time is now for e-fairness,” said David J. Bonaparte, JA president and CEO. “Traditional jewelry businesses just want what’s fair: a level playing field that doesn’t encourage shoppers to spend hours looking at jewelry and watches in their stores, but then purchase them from online-only sellers to avoid the sales tax.”

JA is the national trade association for businesses serving the fine jewelry retail marketplace.