Laws and Ordinances

Economic Impact Review - California

smitchell — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:29:13 -0500

In September 2011, the California Legislature pased a bill requiring cities and counties to have an economic impact analysis prepared before deciding whether to approve an application to develop a large superstore. The legislation defines a superstore as a retail store of at least 90,000 square feet that devotes 10 percent or more of its space to groceries. The law lists a range of impacts that the study must assess and quantify.

California Requires Internet Retailers to Collect Sales Tax

smitchell — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:50:05 -0500

In what may well be the tipping point in a decade-long fight to level the playing field for local brick-and-mortar businesses, California this week enacted a law requiring Amazon and other large online retailers to collect state sales tax.

California is the seventh state to adopt sales tax fairness legislation, bringing the total U.S. population covered by such laws to 28 percent. Its move could embolden other states. Similar bills have been introduced this year in more than a dozen state legislatures.

Why Publishers, Not Amazon, Should Set Book Prices

smitchell — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:55:38 -0500

After winning a high-stakes standoff against Amazon last year, publishers are now setting the prices that retailers can charge for their e-books.

At first blush, one might assume that such price-fixing would result in higher prices. But the evidence from more than a dozen European countries, where laws have long prohibited selling both print and electronic books below a set price, clearly shows that publisher-mandated pricing saves consumers money. It also fosters a more lively and competitive book industry, with far more books published and many more independent bookstores open than in countries where big retailers control pricing.

Internet Sales Tax Fairness - South Dakota

smitchell — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:59:48 -0500

In early 2011, South Dakota enacted the following law, which requires out-of-state retailers to notify their South Dakota customers that they owe use taxes on their purchase.

Internet Sales Tax Fairness - Illinois

smitchell — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:06:16 -0600

In March 2011, Illinois passed a law that requires large e-commerce retailers to collect and remit state sales taxes if they generate more than $10,000 in sales a year through sales affiliates based in Illinois.

Amazon Terminates Affiliates in a Bid to Intimidate State Lawmakers

smitchell — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:00:00 -0600

Amazon is treating its Colorado sales affiliates as "human shields," to use the words of one Denver Post columnist, in what has become a aggressive campaign to overturn a new Colorado law and scare other states away from extending sales taxes to large online retailers.

Banks and Small Business Lending

smitchell — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 07:58:23 -0600

This article was originally published on Huffington Post as part of a partnership with their Move Your Money campaign.

Banking consolidation was constricting the flow of loans to small businesses long before the recession. So it's no surprise that the money taxpayers have spent over the last sixteen months shoring up big banks has done nothing to free up credit for small businesses.

To do that, we need to focus on expanding the capacity of small banks to lend to local businesses that have, as a result of the recession and through no fault of their own, become riskier investments. A key issue is whether the Senate will quickly reauthorize a critical loan-guarantee program.

A New Deal for Local Economies

smitchell — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:05:24 -0600

In this lecture, delivered at the Bristol Schumacher Conference in Great Britain, Stacy Mitchell proposes a set of new rules — policies that would foster local self-reliance and refashion the economy for long-term viability.

Scattered here and there, the seeds of a new economy are taking root. Locally grown food has soared in popularity. Farmers markets are multiplying. Support for independent retailers is on the rise. But despite these promising shifts, local businesses are likely to remain on the economic margins without fundamental changes in public policy.

GAO Report Confirms Need for Regulation of Credit Card Processing Fees

smitchell — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:44:59 -0600

Credit card processing is not only highly concentrated - MasterCard, Visa, and American Express control 93 percent of the market - but competition among the card processors tends to raise, not lower, the fees they charge merchants, according to a new report from the U.S. General Accounting Office. The report's findings point to the need for regulation to protect independent businesses from excessive card processing fees. The GAO examines several policy approaches, including a cap on rates.

Soaring Credit Card Transaction Fees Squeeze Independent Businesses

smitchell — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:09:46 -0500

Independent businesses are largely at the mercy of Visa and MasterCard when it comes to the fees they must pay every time they swipe a credit card. These fees, which are ultimately passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices, have soared from $27 billion in 2004 to $48 billion last year (or $427 per household).

Recognizing the tremendous market power held by card processors, many countries now regulate credit card transaction fees, setting them at rates as low as one-sixth of what U.S. businesses pay.