Jewelers of America is once again calling on Congress to reintroduce, and pass, legislation that would close an Internet sales tax loophole that has hurt traditional jewelry businesses.

In a campaign that kicked-off at the end of January, JA mobilized its membership and others in the trade to contact their Congressional representatives and ask them to reintroduce and pass sales tax fairness legislation. President and CEO Matthew A. Runci followed the outreach with his own letter to Senator Michael B. Enzi (R-WY) and Representative William Delahunt (D-MA), who sponsored sales tax fairness bills in the 110th Congress.

The campaign directed members and non-members to an action alert on sales tax fairness at JA’s recently launched Legislative Action Center (http://www.capwiz.com/jewelers/home/), located in the “Legislation & Regulation” section of JA’s redesigned website.

So far, more than 140 businesses have taken action to support sales tax fairness. Many have shared the history and longevity of their stores, along with the difficulty they’ve had in continuing to operate at a competitive disadvantage to online players, especially in a tough selling environment.

JCK