BTW News Briefs

Sen. Enzi & NRF Testify Before Senate Subcommittee Re E-Fairness

On July 25, Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY) testified before his Senate colleagues at a Senate Finance subcommittee hearing. Enzi, a member of the Small Business committee, offered testimony about the merits of his Sales Tax Fairness and Simplification Act (S. 2152). Said Enzi, "[S. 2152 would] help states ensure the viability of the sales tax as a major revenue source for state budgets by closing a growing loophole that encourages tax avoidance.... This bill is not about new taxes.... If Congress fails to authorize states to collect tax on remote sales, and electronic commerce continues to grow as predicted, are we implicitly blessing a situation where states will be forced to raise other taxes, such as income or property taxes to offset the growing loss of sales tax revenue? I want to avoid that."

A retailer testifying on behalf of the National Retail Federation (NRF) urged the subcommittee to support sales tax simplification legislation to help end the disparity in tax rules between traditional retail stores, online sellers, and mail-order merchants.

"The advent of the Internet and the growth of e-commerce have established a situation where traditional Main Street sellers are losing sales to competitors on the Internet and also suffering a price disadvantage averaging six percent -- the average state sales tax rate," said Robert Benham, president and CEO of Balliet's, a full-line women's specialty store in Oklahoma City. "Considering that most retail profit margins are on the scale of three or four percent, a non-negotiable price disadvantage of six percent on top of the cost of the goods being sold is clearly a significant discrimination against Main Street sellers."

NACSCORP Names New President/COO

A former greeting card company executive will become the new president and chief operating officer for NACSCORP, the NACS subsidiary that distributes wholesale products and provides retail services. Kurt Schoen, who had been president of American Greetings' Plus Mark division, will join NACSCORP in August. Schoen will replace the retiring Len Jardine, who announced earlier this year his plans to leave the company in September.

Schoen will begin at NACSCORP on August 14 and assume his new role as COO on August 28. Jardine will remain with NACSCORP in a consulting role through September. Schoen spent the last 11 years in key executive management roles with American Greetings, based in Cleveland, Ohio. As president of Plus Mark, Schoen oversaw a $200 million subsidiary that produces and markets seasonal products through mass retail and school fundraising channels.