eBay Main Street

Today, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate and House Representatives that would impose new sales tax burdens on small retailers operating on the Internet. Brian Bieron, Senior Director, Federal Government Relations and Global Public Policy at eBay Inc., made the following statement upon the introduction of these Internet sales tax bills.

On July 14, eBay became the first company to sign an agreement with Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), Korea’s anti-trust regulator, for fair trade in the growing online E-commerce market. The signing was attended by the Secretary-General of KFTC, Chairman of the Committee on Consumer Policy, President of the Korea Consumer Agency and Head of eBay Korea Joo-Man PARK in Seoul, Korea. During the declaration ceremony, eBay agreed to adopt a “Consumer Complaints Management System” to better protect consumer rights. Korean eBay sellers and their representatives were present at the signing ceremony. Read more.

Congressman Daniel Lungren (CA-3) and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-16), the original sponsors of HRes 95 ,supporting the "Preservation of Internet Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses", along with their colleague and original cosponsor Congressman Kurt Schrader (OR-5), recently circulated Dear Colleague letters to their Republican and Democratic colleagues in the House in an effort to encourage additional support for protecting small internet enabled retailers and entrepreneurs from new sales tax burdens. Read Congressman Lungren\'s Dear Colleague letter and Congresswoman Lofgren\'s Dear Colleague letter.

It is now easier than ever to join Main Street and stay up to date on legislation affecting e-commerce.When you visit ebaymainstreet.com, simply enter your email to join. We will send you an email to confirm your membership. For those of you wishing to tell us more about how you’d like to be involved, let us know a little more about yourself in the new Preferences Center. You can tell us how you prefer to be contacted and if you would be willing to sign a petition, write a letter, speak to a legislator or speak with media representatives. This is optional, of course. Read more.

In March 2011, the Fan Freedom Project launched to preserve and protect the rights of live-event patrons by fighting restrictive paperless tickets.At eBay Inc. and Stubhub, we agree with their mantra that "We, the fans, own the tickets that we buy." We\'re excited to report that the focus on fans is growing as venues, sports teams and ticketing companies like Ticketmaster and LiveNation have launched the Fans First Coalition.

The eBay/PayPal headquarters was pleased to host members of the European Union, Luxembourgian dignitaries and H.R.H. Crown Prince Guillaume last week at the eBay Headquarters in San Jose, CA. In separate meetings with eBay and PayPal officials, the groups worked to strengthen international relationships and discussed the blurring of offline- and online-commerce. Read more.

eBay Inc. applauds the most recent cosponsor of H.Res. 95, supporting the "Preservation of Internet Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses." Congressman Peter DeFazio (OR-4), a twenty-five year veteran of the U.S. House of Representatives, has joined the bipartisan effort to oppose new tax requirements on small e-tailers. Read eBay Inc.’s position on the Internet sales tax issue here. And click here to read H.Res 95 in its entirety.

[Tuesday 12 July]— In response to today\'s ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, Stefan Krawczyk, Senior Director and Counsel Government Relations, eBay Europe said: “The judgment provides someclarity on certain issues, and ensures that all brands can be traded online in Europe. As a marketplace, eBay provides a level playing field for all online sellers and will continue building constructive partnerships to expand the range of brands being sold on eBay.”

PayPal served as presenting sponsor of the Jurong Lake Run in Singapore on July 10 in an effort to establish closer ties with the local community. The event allowed PayPal to draw attention to the company\'s faster, safer online payment methods and highlight the convenience, cost-savings and wider variety of products available through online shopping. Read more

NULL