Arlington, VA – 02/14/2013 – The following statement is attributable to Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) ^®, in response to the Senate and House introduction of the Marketplace Fairness Act by Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-SD), and Representatives Steve Womack (R-AR), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT) and John Conyers (D-MI):
 
“We commend congressional leadership for their commitment to enact legislation that will require all retailers to collect owed sales taxes. Today, brick and mortar retailers must collect owed sales and use taxes, while Internet retailers do so only in limited circumstances. As state budgets are hurting, forcing layoffs of essential public safety employees, now is the time to give states the ability to collect this much needed, and legally due, source of revenue. We urge Congress to act quickly and enact this vital legislation.”