Extending the “Amazon” tax to all online businesses would result in 180,794 new jobs over the next decade in California alone. The same study projects a $78.5 billion boost to the state’s GDP. Those benefits, along with the much more human aspect of market inequality were on display as a group of people gathered in Oceanside to ask for Congressional approval of the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013.
“Just look at many of our downtowns and Main Street’s and you’ll see that California has really struggled to recover from the economic downturn, and our employment figures are still not where they should be,” said Ed Manske, owner of Manske Properties. “Adding 180, 974 jobs should be a no-brainer. It’s time for Congress to close this loophole.
In a study, Dr. Arthur Laffer and co-author Donna Arduin presented their projections for job and GDP growth that would materialize if Congress passed the Marketplace Fairness Act this year. Internet businesses have long benefitted from the perception that purchases made online were “tax-free.” But that loop has come at a price not only to state budgets, but to mainstreet businesses, and even everyday individuals’ tax bills.
Dr. Laffer’s study demonstrates the negative impact that online sales have had on the state’s tax revenues, which largely stagnated since the early 1990s. Because the internet siphoned-off sales tax revenues, a larger demand has been placed on other sources of tax revenues. Dr. Laffer’s study claims that by instituting Marketplace Fairness, state legislatures would have additional revenues that could allow for other tax breaks. Those breaks would help encourage overall job growth.
“The employment situation here in California still hasn’t bounced back, so 180,000 jobs created over the next decade is welcome news,” said Jaeson Amarillas a Partner with Sentinel Group LLC “I hope the entire congressional delegation from California will get behind the Marketplace Fairness Act now and urge their colleagues to do the same”
The Marketplace Fairness Act received a bipartisan vote in the U.S. Senate on May 6, 2013, and similar legislation is already pending in the House of Representatives with over 60 bipartisan cosponsors, including Rep. Judy Chu, Rep. Jared Huffman, Rep. Alan Lowenthal, Rep. Linda Sanchez, Rep. Loretta Sanchez and Rep. Jackie Speier from this state.