Congress is keeping ecommerce lobbyists busy - as reported here a month ago, legislators are tackling the online sales tax issue once again.

A group of 53 senators and representatives introduced a bill on Thursday that would allow states to require the collection of sales taxes for online purchases. The sponsors say the new bill (with an old name) resolves the differences between bills introduced in the Senate and the House of Representatives last Congress.

The Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 would give states the option to require the collection of sales and use taxes already owed under State law by out-of-state businesses, rather than rely on consumers to remit those taxes to the States - if states simplify their sales and use tax systems. The bill's backers say the legislation is a move to help small, "Main Street" businesses.

The effort in the Senate has been led by U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) joined with Assistant Senate Majority Leader, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) who introduced the Marketplace Fairness Act in the Senate during the 112th Congress.

US Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrate from Illinois, said of the issue, "Businesses in Illinois aren't looking for a handout from Washington. They don't want special treatment. All they want is a level playing field. By giving states the authority to enforce existing tax laws, the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 eliminates the competitive advantage currently enjoyed by many internet retailers at the expense of local businesses. Every day we don't act to pass this bill, we risk another small business closing its doors because they can no longer survive."

The effort in the House of Representatives has been led by U.S. Representative Steve Womack (R-AR) and U.S. Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA) who, during the 112th Congress, introduced the Marketplace Equity Act of 2011 and U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and U.S. Representative Peter Welch (D-VT) who, during the 112th Congress, introduced the Main Street Fairness Act.

Large retailers came out with statements in favor of the bill, including Sears and the National Retail Federation. Amazon and eBay are split on the issue.

eBay did not immediately issue a statement about the latest version of the Marketplace Fairness Act, but has a "Main Street" advocacy website where it states, "eBay believes that small businesses selling via the Internet should only be subject to the tax laws of the states in which they operate and we are working very hard to stop Congress from changing the law in a way that hurts small online businesses," and states, "eBay believes that including a robust small business exemption in any Internet sales tax bill is critical to ensuring small businesses play an important role in the Internet marketplace. Therefore, eBay Inc. opposes any attempts by Congress to pass legislation that does not include robust protections for small businesses across the country."