Alibaba promotes its marketplace approach as being very small merchant friendly. But will a failure by Congress to pass sales tax fairness legislation make it so the Chinese giant winds up putting more small stores out of business than Amazon.com, Walmart or any of the other companies that typically top the list of big retail boogeymen?
A new commercial from the Alliance for Main Street Fairness makes clear this group believes Alibaba's entry into the U.S. market represents a clear and present danger to the small and large businesses it represents. Further, the Alliance is apparently keen on using the Chinese company's foreign origin to put some heat on legislators to act before the end of the lame duck Congress.
![[Image: Out of Business]](/public/images/discussions/17941/out-of-business-still.jpg)
The voice-over for the new spot reads: "Alibaba is China's largest online retailer. Their IPO was the biggest in Wall Street's history. Now, they're coming to America. Thanks to the online sales tax loophole, this Chinese company will decimate our local retailers. Unless Congress ends special tax treatment for Alibaba and other online giants, Main Street will never look the same. Tell Congress, change the online sales tax loophole before it closes Main Street."
Alibaba, according to a Financial Times report, has rejected the allegations in the commercial as not being fact-based and claims the company pays taxes based on prevailing laws in the countries where it operates. Alibaba also reinforced its role in providing domestic businesses with the opportunity to bring their goods and services to the growing Chinese market.
Retailers supporting sales tax fairness legislation have been stepping up the campaign to get Congress to act. While the Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act in 2013, the House of Representatives has not yet voted on similar legislation before it.
David French, senior vice president at the National Retail Federation, wrote last month on the association's site, "The measure has stalled in the House over unfounded concerns and misinformation spread by opponents."
Seventy-three percent of respondents to a RetailWire poll taken on Nov. 20 said the next Congress is unlikely to pass sales tax fairness legislation.
- Out of Business - AMSF Stand With Main Street/YouTube
- US retailers target Alibaba over sales tax ‘loophole' - Financial Times (tiered sub.)
- Did the GOP victory end hope of the sales tax fairness bill's passage? - RetailWire
- Lame Duck Could Be Last Chance For Sales Tax Fairness - National Retail Federation