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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