Randy Arndt (202) 626-3158
John Pionke (202) 626-3051
The National League of Cities (NLC) today called on federal lawmakers in Washington to ensure fairness in the nation's changing retail marketplace by ending the tax loophole that allows Internet merchants to conduct their business without collecting sales taxes.
"The federal government allows an exemption on sales and use tax collection for remote catalog and Internet vendors while local brick and mortar stores must collect sales taxes on all of their transactions. This inequity puts traditional retailers at a competitive disadvantage," declared the NLC Year 2000 Action Agenda released today at the League's annual Congressional City Conference.
NLC President Bob Knight, mayor of Wichita, Kan., outlined the NLC priorities following an address by President Clinton to the more than 3,000 municipal officials attending the meeting.
Mayor Knight also called on city leaders to become active leaders in "Cities Striving to Promote Racial Justice" a NLC campaign to mobilize communities to take action against racism in America. He also urged Congress and the Administration, "individually and collectively, to join this effort." The campaign is an outgrowth of a year-long NLC study and report, "Undoing Racism."
The NLC Action Agenda focused on federal policy issues and actions in five broad areas:
"The number of businesses selling online and the number of people shopping at those sites have grown exponentially in the past three years," said Knight. "It is an exciting new marketplace that has contributed to our booming economy. But we cannot and should not give this new marketplace advantages that jeopardize traditional businesses and revenues needed to deliver public services."
Congress is prepared to consider several bills that could preempt state and local authority to collect legally due sales and use taxes on Internet purchases. Most of those transactions are now tax free under a temporary moratorium enacted to allow a Federal Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce to develop and submit recommendations on a number of issues. That report is due in April.
The NLC statement "opposes any federal action to extend or make permanent the existing moratorium." It supports joint efforts to develop fair and equitable strategies for the collection of sales and use taxes, and opposes any federal action that "usurps local authority to maintain revenue for citizen services."
The NLC priorities outlined by Mayor Knight focus on basic concepts of governance as well as specific legislation and policy debates. The Action Agenda will be the driving force behind advocacy efforts and federal policy initiatives carried out by NLC on behalf of the nation's cities this year.
"I proudly submit that local government is where leaders in America are born, live and go to work every day," Mayor Knight said. "It is where bold, daring leadership is taking root and thriving."
The goal of protecting cities and towns from federal preemptions includes opposition to several specific threats, such as the Religious Liberty Protection Act and takings legislation which undercut basic concepts of local governance, and broad issues such as telecommunications and electric utility deregulation, which may also have significant potential for adverse impacts on cities.
Continuing shortages in credit availability and investment for affordable housing has affected many communities left behind by today's robust economy. The NLC priorities support repeal of the 1997 budget caps to allow increased spending with fiscal responsibility to expand the supply of credit and investment in affordable housing, community development, brownfield remediation, "smart growth," and efforts to eliminate the growing "digital divide" in poor, minority communities.
The call for investments in children and families comes in response to the income gap that continues to grow between rich and poor families. Recommendations include federal support to assure quality education, access to good health care, safe and affordable child care, and access to employment training, housing and transportation to obtain jobs and opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency.
Assuring the safety and protection of local citizens is a fundamental responsibility of all local governments, and the challenges of illegal drug trafficking, gun violence, disasters and terrorist acts have multiplied the importance of federal assistance to local agencies. Actions sought in the NLC priorities include flexible funding to support local crime prevention and law enforcement programs, improved standards for truck drivers and vehicle safety, enhanced efforts in disaster preparedness, emergency response and counterterrorism, and comprehensive efforts to address youth violence, gun violence and gun safety.
The initiatives on racism were outlined in a NLC President's Agenda that was distributed at the meeting and will be sent to cities throughout the United States. It includes ideas and questions to help cities begin broad-based local efforts to take stock, implement plans, assess outcomes, envision the future and build networks to communicate, build involvement and share information about progress.
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