Alibaba has woken the wrath of US retail industry
The Alibaba logo. (Photo/Xinhua)
As the long fingers of Alibaba, China's leading e-commerce firm, reach into the US market, domestic retailers are urgently calling for the plugging of the online taxation loophole as the best defense for their threatened survival, reports Shanghai-based outlet the Paper.
Now that Alibaba has made its US market intentions clear, it has replaced Amazon as the foremost enemy of other major US retailers, said the report.
Over the last weekend, the Alliance for Main Street Fairness aired a TV and radio ad urging Congress to remove taxation privileges for Alibaba and other online e-commerce heavyweights. Some of the biggest — Target, Best Buy and Home Depot — and thousands of smaller retailers have put their weight behind the statement.
US retailers watched as the outperforming internet beast lumbered into the New York Stock Exchange in September for the world's largest IPO, the stock price of which has since doubled. Its sales figures are formidable, overshadowing Amazon and eBay combined. Sooner or later, Alibaba will take advantage of the taxation loophole to boost its edge in the US market, noted an official with the Alliance for Main Street Fairness.
Alibaba refuted the accusations in the ad, saying that the company has always paid taxes according to the regulations of host nations, including the US, according to the Financial Times.
US retailers and industry analysts believe that, backed by the strong financial clout in the wake of its record IPO and its feverish growth worldwide, Alibaba is gearing up to launch tailor-made services to US consumers.
Alibaba claims that its focus is still on the Chinese market for the time being, as increased wealth and the popularity of the internet for shopping among people in China will assure continued robust growth in the domestic market.
Although AliExpress, the arm for Alibaba's international retail business, can sell merchandise to US consumers, Taobao, its flagship e-commerce website, has yet to offer English-language services. In June, Alibaba bought into 11 Main, a US B2C platform similar to Tmall.
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