eBay Main Street

From ecommerceBytes.com: "Consensus was in short supply here at the annual State of the Net conference, where representatives from eBay and Amazon squared off in a panel discussion concerning the contentious issue of online sales taxes. For eBay, the fight to defeat legislation that would empower states to require out-of-state Internet companies to collect sales taxes has vaulted to the top of the company's policy agenda, according to Becky Relic, head of North American government relations for all of eBay's properties, including PayPal. 'We are here to protect small businesses. We need to see all of them grow, all of them thrive,' Relic said, arguing that the tax collection requirement would disproportionately hurt the small sellers with shops on its marketplace."

Last month, eBay sellers participated in a number of meetings with Members of the European Parliament as part of the 'eBay Seller Fly-in' to Brussels. The fly-in was organised by eBay to help EU legislators understand the challenges faced by online sellers and the actions which can be taken to overcome those challenges. Sellers from the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Ireland met a number of MEPs from their own country.

Numerous news outlets reported last week on a deal between the State of Indiana and Internet retailer Amazon.com. Amazon, who has a significant physical presence in the state, will begin collecting Indiana’s 7 percent sales tax from customers in 2014. eBay Inc. released a statement in response to the news. Read more.

While we believe that the intention to introduce the Computing Professionals Act by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation might have been well-intentioned, as'

"Virtually all of Florida's largest business organizations are lobbying the Florida Legislature this session to make customers of online retailers pay a sales tax, same as Main Street's brick-and-mortar customers do. I know I've said it before, but here it is again: This is a spectacularly bad idea. Main Street keeps talking about 'leveling the playing field.' But what is there to level?" Visit The Sunshine State News to read the complete op-ed piece by writer Nancy Smith.

eBay welcomes the publication on 11 January 2012 of the long-awaited EU Commission Communication on e-commerce. The Communication sets the European Commission\'s policy actions relating to e-commerce for the next few years. In addition to covering the existing E-commerce Directive, the focus of the action points is strongly on boosting cross-border trade, building consumer trust, giving opportunities to small and medium-sized enterprises, limiting the harmful impact of certain selective distribution practices and improving online payment and delivery systems.

'eBay’s Vice President of eBay Inc. Australia, Deborah Sharkey, has written an article for a newly launched magazine, Political Trends. The monthly magazine, launched this month, is aimed at Australian politicians, staffers and lobbyists operating in and around the nation\'s state and federal parliaments. Read More'

eBay's Vice President of eBay Inc. Australia, Deborah Sharkey, has written an article for a newly launched magazine, Political Trends. The monthly magazine, launched last month, is aimed at Australian politicians, staffers and lobbyists operating in and around the nation's state and federal parliaments.

John Ure, Executive Director of the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), released an op-ed in the South China Morning Post, highlighting that, "Flexible regulation allows innovative business models to develop...We see a lot of focus on combating copyright infringement. But do we see enough focus on the experimentation with new business models and the copyright tools that will make those new business models possible?"

'John Ure, Executive Director of the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), released an op-ed in the South China Morning Post, highlighting that, "Flexible regulation allows innovative business models to develop...We see a lot of focus on combating copyright infringement. But do we see enough focus on the experimentation with new business models and the copyright tools that will make those new business models possible?"

'