August 11, 2014

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Retailers from Minnesota met with Senator Amy Klobuchar in the historic capitol building President's Room late last month during NRF's Retail Advocates Summit.
E-Fairness
Economist Arthur Laffer Says E-Fairness Inaction Could Result In Higher State Taxes  

F
rom CPA Practice Advisor, Issac O'Bannon, July 31, 2014

"Inaction by Congress on closing the internet sales tax loophole could result in states having to raise taxes and in some cases implement more harmful taxes that stifle economic growth. That's according a new video testimonial, released by The Alliance for Main Street Fairness.

In the video, Dr. Laffer explains that with exemptions and loopholes in the sales tax code, it usually results in a higher rate. The Alliance is an organization of corporations and policy thought leaders who are lobbying Congress and educating taxpayers on why the internet sales tax loophole, which results in non-taxed online sales, is harmful to the economy.

"You know all taxes are bad. Some are worse than others," Dr. Laffer explains in the video. "What you want to do is you want to have a state collect taxes in the least damaging fashion and spend the money in the most positive fashion it can and what you find is that sales taxes are a very broad based, low-rate, flat tax that really do the least damage to a state, so therefore when I look at a state to me, the more the state relies on sales taxes and the less it relies on income taxes and these one-off taxes like estate taxes and other nonsense taxes, corporate taxes, you know the better off the state will be and you find that very, very true use those proceeds to reduce far more damaging taxes in the state."

Last year, Dr. Laffer authored Pro-Growth Tax Reform and E-fairness, a study that outlines how states can responsibly implement e-fairness legislation by reducing other harmful taxes which prohibits economic growth, while providing fairness to local retailers."

 


Minimum Wage
Stillwater Cafe Charges Fee To Offset Minimum Wage Increase; Governor Criticizes Practice  

From Star Tribune, August 7, 2014


"Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton on Thursday criticized restaurants that are charging their customers fees to offset a recent state minimum wage increase, calling the practice "tacky."

Although he didn't name a specific restaurant, Dayton told Minnesota Public Radio's Morning Edition Thursday that he is disappointed in restaurants that are adding fees to patrons' tabs.

"I think it's tacky, myself," Dayton said. "But it's their restaurant, and they have a right to freedom of expressions, and so if they're going to make this their way of objecting to it, people can decide for themselves whether they want to continue to patronize a restaurant that is trying to, opposes paying people $8 an hour."

Oasis Cafe, a small roadside cafe in Stillwater, recently started charging customers a 35-cent fee to offset the 75-cent wage increase that took effect last week, the Star Tribune reported. Although he only has half a dozen servers at his restaurant, owner Craig Beemer said it will cost him $10,000 more each year to pay his servers $8 an hour.

One angry customer demanded a refund, while others are encouraging people to boycott the restaurant through Facebook.

Colin Orcutt, a manager at Oasis Cafe, said everyone who works at the restaurant is shocked by the negative response from the community.

"We're all appalled at the response for just protecting his employees, he said. "We're just doing what we have to do."

At least one other restaurant has taken similar measures in light of the minimum wage increase.

Blue Plate Co., a Twin Cities-based company that owns eight restaurants, has increased prices and has begun to charge its servers when a customer uses a credit card to tip them."

 


Employment
The US Jobs Market Just Accomplished Something It Hasn't Done Since 1997  

From Business Insider, Brett LoGiurato, August 1, 2014

"Job growth has hit more than 200,000 each month for the past six months, the first time that mark has been reached since 1997.

The U.S. added 209,000 jobs in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday, and the unemployment rate ticked up to 6.2%. Meanwhile, last month's report was revised up to 298,000 from 288,000, and May was revised up to 229,000 from 224,000.

"Quite a milestone today in terms of the number of nonfarm payroll jobs the economy is creating. Six months in a row of big 200K or more monthly numbers. The labor market is strong," said Chris Rupkey, the chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ."

 



This past week the Minnesota Retailers Association (MnRA) celebrated 62 years of retailers working together for the betterment of the industry and Minnesota's communities. Thank you members!

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