CBA is asking member retailers for their stance on proposed legislation that which would allow states to require and collect online sales taxes.

"There has been conflict within our membership regarding a fair-tax bill in Congress—the Marketplace Fairness Act—that would require online-only retailers to collect sales taxes just as brick-and-mortar stores do," said CBA President Curtis Riskey, requesting retailers to take a survey on the issue. "We strongly believe the Marketplace Fairness Act is in the best interests of our members. But we would like to hear directly from you."

The Senate passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act on May 6. The bill, S. 743, is pending before the House, where it is expected to face opposition. The bill requires large online retailers with more than $1 million a year in online sales to collect state and local sales tax in jurisdictions where consumers purchase their products.

"Some Christian retailers are opposing the act because they believe it represents a new tax or a tax on the Internet," CBA officials said. "CBA believes it doesn't represent a new tax, rather fair collection of existing taxes."

The association recently posted on its website findings by economists Art Laffer and Donna Arduin, who said fair online sales tax policies would jumpstart growth. Their research, Pro-Growth Tax Reform and E-Fairness, found that closing the online sales-tax loophole could lower overall tax rates, and fair taxation policies could generate about 1.5 million U.S. jobs in the next decade.

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