Citing numerous statistics about how eBay supports the growth of small businesses, eBay CEO Meg Whitman appeared in Washington, D.C. at the National Press Club Thursday, May 6. Straight from a day of lobbying Congress, dubbed "The United States of eBay Small Business Summit," Whitman told a small group of reporters that the Internet has "leveled the playing field" between small and big businesses.

Whitman reiterated the entreaties to the House and Senate to speedily get the bill to extend the moratorium on taxing Internet access to the President’s desk for signature. She also spoke strongly about what she believes to be the dangers to small businesses from the Streamlined Sales Tax Project, or SSTP, which states have proposed to increase state tax revenues, and that would lift constitutional restrictions on taxing across state lines.

"There is nothing streamlined or simple about SSTP," said Whitman, adding that it would "force businesses that operate over the Internet to collect and remit sales taxes in thousands of cities and counties across the country in which they lack physical presence." This could likely shut them down, she said.

When one reporter asked if the tax was really that complex, and if people could use just software to compute what they owe, Whitman responded that even with software, she believed it would be difficult for sellers to comply with the tax. "Imagine filing income tax in 45 states," she said, adding that eBay sellers mostly do not use SKU numbers, which traditional retailers employ in doing their business computations.

Whitman estimated that 95% of eBay’s Gross Merchandise Sales come from small businesses, and that although there was a time when eBay thought the mix of large vs. small businesses on the site would change, it has not. She said she expected large sellers to remain at about 5% of eBay’s GMS. "The real story of the Net is small business," said Whitman, saying that the small businesses served by eBay create jobs at a time they were needed most. She said 47% of eBay Powersellers have two employees, and 35% have three or more. eBay announced in February 2004 that 430,000 Americans now make a substantial part of their income via eBay.

eBay also issued several press releases yesterday relating to small businesses. eBay will market GE Business Credit Services financing programs to small businesses on eBay through emails and other direct marketing programs. The programs give eBay and PayPal merchants secured and unsecured working capital credit lines, and GE Business Credit Services will waive its application fees, account opening fees and first year annual fees for businesses that apply for its credit programs through eBay. eBay also announced that national nonprofit One Economy Corporation launched the Entrepreneur's Center sponsored by eBay Foundation on the Beehive Web site (http://www.thebeehive.org/ecenter), an online resource that gives small business owners the tools to compete and succeed. This new resource targets low-income individuals and provides the tools they need to start or grow a business.

Wearing a silk black-and-white Asian-print scarf atop a suit, and stunning C-shaped diamond earrings, Whitman’s D.C. attire was in contrast to the down-to-earth casual khakis and rolled-up-shirtsleeves of her eBay Live Conference appearances, but this was the same poised, affable Meg.

Only a handful of questions were asked, among them whether or not eBay was hiring (it is, in case you were wondering…mostly in technology and support/Trust & Safety). In a moment of levity, CBS MarketWatch reporter Frank Barnako noted that he receives a lot of eBay-related spam these days, and Whitman concurred that she must be receiving some of the same spam messages.

If CEOs such as Whitman are dealing with the same junk emails as the rest of us, maybe spam is the real "great equalizer."