Retail Rules

Internet Sales Tax Fairness - North Carolina

smitchell — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:41:10 -0500

Following the lead of New York and Rhode Island, in August 2009, North Carolina passed a budget that includes a new provision that requires large e-commerce retailers to collect and remit state sales taxes even if they have no physical operation in the state.

Formula Business Restriction – McCall, ID

smitchell — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:44:13 -0500

In 2006, McCall, Idaho, enacted an ordinance that limits formula restaurants to only 10% of the total number of restaurants and limits formula retail businesses to no more than 10% of the total number of "like businesses" in town. McCall's city code defines "like businesses" as "those which have substantially the same product offering, such as food stores, furniture stores, auto parts stores, etc., and is not the total quantity of all categories of like businesses." The city uses business license information to help classify businesses appropriately.

Internet Sales Tax Fairness – Rhode Island

smitchell — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:20:47 -0500

Following New York’s lead, in 2009, Rhode Island began requiring e-commerce retailers to collect and remit state sales taxes even if they have no physical operation in the state. The new measure specifies that if an online merchant generates more than $5,000 in sales through in-state sales affiliates, the merchant must collect sales tax on all of its taxable sales in Rhode Island.

Pharmacy Ownership Laws — Europe

smitchell — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:56:50 -0500

Pharmacy ownership laws are more prevalent in Europe. Eleven of the 27 European Union member states (Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Spain) do not allow non-pharmacists to hold a majority stake in pharmacies.

Pharmacy Ownership Law — North Dakota

smitchell — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:52:10 -0500

Enacted in 1963, North Dakota's Pharmacy Ownership Law stipulates that only pharmacies that are majority owned by a licensed pharmacist may be granted a permit to operate in the state. Research on the law's impact shows that North Dakota has more pharmacies dispersed across rural areas than other states, has among the lowest prescription drug prices in the country, and reaps significant economic benefits from the fact that most of its pharmacies are locally owned.

Store Size Cap - San Diego, CA

smitchell — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:37:10 -0500

San Diego prohibits stores over 90,000 square feet that devote more than 10 percent of their floor area to groceries. Several cities in California and Arizona have adopted similar ordinances in recent years.

Store Size Cap - San Francisco, CA

smitchell — Thu, 14 May 2009 11:55:37 -0500

To maintain a diversity of small-scale, neighborhood-serving businesses, San Francisco prohibits stores over 4,000 square feet in several of its neighborhood commercial districts.

Store Size Cap - Taos, NM

smitchell — Thu, 14 May 2009 11:36:24 -0500

Taos prohibits stores that exceed 80,000 square feet and requires developers to obtain a special permit to build stores over 30,000 square feet. To receive a permit, developments must meet specific criteria and comply with the town's architectural and design standards.

Local Purchasing Preferences - San Jose, CA

smitchell — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:15:23 -0500

San Jose grants local small businesses (those with 35 or fewer employees) a 5% price preference in the awarding of city contracts. For services provided through a request-for-proposal process, local small businesses receive a 10% point advantage. (Local businesses of all sizes also receive a 2.5% preference, but the city defines a "local" business as any business with a location in Santa Clara County.)

Local Purchasing Preferences - Madison, WI

smitchell — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:31:42 -0500

On purchases over $5,000, the city of Madison, Wisconsin, grants local businesses a 1% price preference on bids and a 5% point preference on RFPs (request for proposal). To qualify as "local," a business must meet at least two of three criteria involving the portion of its employees working at facilities in the local area (at least 50%), portion of ownership vested with local residents (at least 50%), and portion of sourcing within the local area (at least 15%). Businesses are ranked based on these factors so that some may be listed as more local than others. (On purchases under $5,000, city staff are encouraged, but not required, to buy local.)

Local Purchasing Preferences - Los Angeles

smitchell — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:03:56 -0500

On contracts of $100,000 or less, the city of Los Angeles grants a 10% preference to small, local businesses. A small, local business is defined as one that is independently owned and operated, located in the county of Los Angeles, and not "dominant in its field of operations." Los Angeles County also grants small, local businesses a 5% preference on county contracts.

Local Purchasing Preferences - Indiana

smitchell — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:29:41 -0500

Indiana grants a 15% preference to small, independent businesses, as defined below, and gives all other local businesses a preference of 1-5%, depending on the size of the contract.