eBay CEO John Donahoe asked the users to back him in the fight against online sales tax, which is said to be introduced by the U.S. government. According to Reuters, Donahoe sent first emails in the morning of April 21.
Roughly 40 million users, mainly online auction sellers, were to receive emails. Donahoe told the online sales tax bill "unfairly burdens" small merchants and asked his clients to email Congress requiring to change the Marketplace Fairness Act.
Donahoe wrote that the legislation will hit both small retailers and online companies, such as Amazon. However, the latter will be less affected since it earns $10 million per 90 minutes – pretty enough to pay taxes in all states, eBay head said.
Donahoe emailing will be the largest in the history of eBay. The news service said the company took these measures due to the fact that numerous small retailers are bidding through eBay and hauling in millions of dollars a year.
Marketplace Fairness Act will be considered by Congress in the next few days. It will allow states to collect a sales tax from out-of-state online retailers. Exceptions are made only for retailers with sales less than a million dollars per year and no more than fifty employees. Currently, states can only collect taxes from online sellers on their territory.