Do You Support a Sales Tax for Online Purchases?

Leave a comment to join the conversation about the Marketplace Fairness Act.

Do You Support a Sales Tax for Online Purchases?

The Marketplace Fairness Act was approved this week in the U.S. Senate, and is headed to the Republican-controlled U.S. House for consideration. Both Michigan's senators voted for the bill, which would require merchants to collect state taxes on internet

Michigan's U.S. Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, both Democrats, voted in support of a bill that requires merchants to collect state sales taxes for online purchases. The Marketplace Fairness Act passed the U.S. Senate 69-27 on Monday. Next up, the legislation goes to the GOP-led House. President Barack Obama has previously said he supports the bill. Supporters say the bill would level the paying field for traditional local retailers and collect much needed tax revenue for state. Opponents, including anti-tax activists and retailers, say it will be overly burdensome on small businesses and would effectively result in a tax increase. Neither Levin nor Stabenow issued public statements after Monday's vote explaining their support of the…

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Carl Levin Won't Run for Re-Election in 2014

The Michigan senator won his first seat in 1978.

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, who has been in office for more than 30 years, won't run for re-election in 2014. Levin, 78, released at statement Thursday afternoon stating “I can best serve my state and my nation by concentrating in the next two years on the challenging issues before us … in other words, by doing my job without the "distraction of campaigning for re-election," according to the Detroit Free Press. Levin first won a senate seat in 1978 and is the longest-serving senator in Michigan history, according to Click on Detroit. Michigan Republican Party Chairman Bobby Schostak issued the following statement regarding Democratic Senator Carl Levin retirement: “Michigan families are frustrated due to the lack of leadership and failed …

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Superstorm Sandy's Ongoing Recovery is a Great Lakes Priority, Levin Says

The economic impact of damage to shipping in Michigan will be felt across the country.

More than four months after Superstorm Sandy devastated parts of the Eastern United States, recovery and reconstruction efforts are far from complete. And while most of the attention has rightly focused on the need for aid to areas in the Northeast that were devastated by the storm’s landfall, Sandy’s power was so great that its effects were felt as far west as our own Great Lakes. When Sandy reached land in October, it cut a deadly path across the country. More than 120 deaths are blamed on the storm, and Americans will never forget the scenes of devastation in the storm’s wake. Sandy was not just powerful, it was huge. Hurricane force winds were recorded in an area more than 900 miles across, making it the largest Atlantic Ocean …

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Obama Gun Control Proposals Unveiled: What's Your Take?

The president unveiled a sweeping number of proposals Wednesday designed to curb gun violence. What do you think?

President Obama on Wednesday unveiled what is being called the most ambitious gun control agenda in decades, initiating 23 separate executive actions aimed at curbing what he called “the epidemic of gun violence in this country,” according to The Washington Post. According to the White House fact sheet, Obama’s plan includes: In Michigan, Sen. Carl Levin quickly released the following statement: "I strongly support the efforts President Obama outlined today to curb the gun violence that plagues our nation. I have long supported legislation to restore the ban on assault weapons. I also have supported closing the gun show loophole to strengthen the background checks that keep weapons out of the hands of criminals, terrorists, domestic …

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