Overstock is the other company besides Amazon that commonly shutters affiliates when states like Illinois pass “Amazon Tax” laws. While Amazon is pushing for a new federal sales tax bill, Overstock has countered with their own bill called the Equity in Sales Tax Collection Act Bill.
On their website at http://www.overstock.com/bill, you can see a write-up of the Overstock Equity in Sales Tax Collection Act Bill, their proposed benefits of equity in sales tax collection act, a level playing field summary, and a prepared testimony of Dr. Byrne-c.
The press release that Overstock provided summarizes the topic nicely and is included below.
Overstock Proposes Equity in Sales Tax Collection Act Bill
Fairness Bill would level the playing field and remove barriers for small businesses
SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSTK), today released a proposed Equity in Sales Tax Collection Act bill. The bill is designed to facilitate State Sales Tax simplification and collection, eliminate unfair competitive advantages created by current State Sales Tax policy, and to foster growth and prosperity of our economy through reductions of State-imposed burdens on interstate commerce. To view the proposed bill, visit www.overstock.com/bill.
Overstock.com has long opposed state laws designed to force out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax merely for using in-state ad services. The company has mounted court challenges, citing Supreme Court decisions rendering these laws unconstitutional, and has cut ties with local advertisers in California, Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island.
“The pending bills allow states to shirk their responsibility to collect taxes they impose on consumers, and instead force that burden onto non-resident, non-voting businesses,” Overstock.com CEO, Patrick Byrne told a Congressional Committee on Wednesday. “Passage of such legislation would poison the Internet’s fertile ground for growing new, innovative E-commerce firms. I believe our bill will garner support from the majority of E-commerce companies, as well as many brick and mortar and brick and click retailers, particularly smaller and mid-sized main street retailers who would otherwise be hurt by the pending bills.”
About Overstock.com
Overstock.com is Your Savings Engine offering brand-name products. The company offers its customers an opportunity to shop for bargains conveniently, while offering its suppliers an alternative inventory distribution channel. Overstock.com, headquartered in Salt Lake City, is a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ Global Market System and can be found online at http://www.overstock.com and http://www.o.co. Overstock.com regularly posts information about the company and other related matters on its website under the heading “Investor Relations.”
Overstock.com® and O.co® and Club O Rewards® are registered trademarks of Overstock.com, Inc. Club O (TM), and Club O Rewards Dollars (TM) and Your Savings Engine(TM) are trademarks of Overstock.com, Inc.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the effects on any of the proposed bills. Our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, or any amendments thereto, and our other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission identify important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections, estimates or forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Overstock.com, Inc.
CONTACT: Media, Roger Johnson, Overstock.com, Inc., +1 (801) 947-4430, rojohnson@overstock.com; or Investors, Kevin Moon, Overstock.com, Inc., +1 (801) 947-3282, kmoon@overstock.com
Web Site: http://www.overstock.com
