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| Wednesday, April 18, 2001 |
Negotiations Between High-Tech and Government Members Fall Apart ARLINGTON, VA, March 17, 2000 -- The International Mass Retail Association (IMRA) expressed disappointment that negotiations between the high-tech/communications and government members of the Congressionally appointed Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce (ACEC) have broken down. The two groups were seeking agreement on a number of issues, including requiring all retailers – both on-line and in-store – to be treated equally with regard to sales tax collection requirements. As it currently stands, most brick-and-mortar retailers are required to collect sales taxes from their customers while most Internet retailers are not, resulting in a subsidy for on-line merchants at the expense of traditional retailers and their customers. “I am dismayed that the high-tech businessmen appointed to the ACEC elected to support a proposal that carves out special protections for their companies, rather than seizing the opportunity to recommend a workable and fair solution that actually fixes the current problem regarding sales tax collection duties,” said Robert J. Verdisco, President of IMRA. The high-tech members of the ACEC are backing a proposal that would put in place special protections for businesses selling over the Internet, calls for the immediate repeal of a federal telephone excise tax and would exempt from sales taxes digitized products (such as books, videos or music that can be down loaded) and their tangible equivalents. “All efforts to reach a compromise that would have represented sound tax and economic policy and promoted healthy business competition have unraveled in the face of self-interest. These commissioners had the opportunity to support a proposal that would have recommended a continued ban on access taxes and a fair resolution of the sales tax collection question by laying the groundwork for comprehensive sales and use tax simplification, but opted to support unfettered growth of the Internet instead,” said Lisa Gilbertson, IMRA’s Director of Tax and Financial Issues. “The most astounding thing is that traditional brick-and-mortar retailers were completely unrepresented on the commission, yet the ACEC will attempt to make policy recommendations that directly affect all traditional retailers and the millions of people they employ, not to mention the many more millions who shop in these stores,” said Verdisco. The International Mass Retail Association is an alliance of retailers and their product and service suppliers committed to bringing price-competitive value to the world's consumers. IMRA improves its members' businesses by providing industry research and education, government advocacy, and a unique forum for its members to establish relationships, solve problems, and work together for the benefit of the consumer and the mass retail industry. IMRA represents over 200 retail companies, which operate more than 133,000 stores worldwide and have sales of over $450 billion annually. IMRA represents over 600 supplier companies with sales totaling over $600 billion per year. Together, IMRA's membership represents over $1 trillion in sales and employs millions of workers. The International Mass Retail Association--the world’s leading alliance of retailers and their product and service suppliers--is committed to bringing price-competitive value to the world’s consumers. IMRA improves its members’ businesses by providing industry research and education, government advocacy, and a unique forum for its members to establish relationships, solve problems, and work together for the benefit of the consumer and the mass retail industry. IMRA represents many of the best-known and most successful retailers in the world, who operate thousands of stores worldwide. IMRA equally values among its members hundreds of the world’s top-tier product and service suppliers, working with their retailer partners to further the growth of the mass retail industry. Return to Press Release index for March 2000 |
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