Chamber Supports Marketplace Equity Act

The Greater Oak Brook Chamber of Commerce urges all businesses to draft a letter to Senator Mark Kirk (you can use the sample letter from the Chamber below) supporting the Marketplace Equity Act.

You can email Senator Kirk by clicking here

Dear Senator Kirk:

Retail stores in our community know which government policies help their business and which hurt. As the (title) of (company/organization name), I’ve watched these stores struggle over the last several years and I’ve seen them survive despite the poorest economic conditions. The most important thing that you can do now for them is to lead other congressmen and women to enforce online sales taxes for products purchased via the Internet.

Retail stores have to compete in terms for customers, while being required to charge sales tax. Online retailers should have to work within these parameters, too. Currently, online retailers have an unfair advantage to sell without being forced to collect sales tax – and the government is permitting this!

We are asking you to support the Marketplace Equity Act, a bi-partisan bill that has been introduced in the House with a Senate companion bill on the way. This bill calls for Congress to give states the authority to tax online sales, as long as they provide necessary checks and balances to ensure all businesses are finally on a level playing field. The bill doesn’t increase taxes – it makes things fair.

According to the retail advocacy groups with whom we work, our state legislators worked toward a solution earlier this year with a state version of a law requiring online retailers to collect the tax. However, it didn’t work because Amazon and others cut their business ties here. That isn’t a problem under the Marketplace Equity Act, which says that as long as states meet clear criteria in how they establish online tax rates, they can collect the tax for online business. We also understand that small businesses will be exempt from collecting this tax.

Please support this national effort, which will help make things fair for businesses in Illinois.

Thank you for any and all help you can provide to move this bill forward.