With the recess of legislators for the summer, CapFacts will arrive on an as-needed basis.
In lieu of CapFacts this week we are sending this ACTION ALERT to all members.
CapFacts will resume on a weekly basis when legislators return in September.

ACTION ALERT

Michigan House of Representatives
Turns Back on Main Street

Michigan Retailers Association members must “light a fire for fairness” under state
lawmakers after the Michigan House of Representatives turned its back on Main Street.

Forceful grassroots action is needed because House members let Main Street businesses
twist in the wind by failing to take action to eliminate an inequity that costs Michigan retailers
money and jobs and hurts schoolchildren and their communities.

Here’s what happened. Two weeks ago the House left for summer vacation without taking
action on Senate Bill 433, which would authorize our state to participate in the national
Streamlined Sales Tax Project. Michigan’s participation is critical to this national effort to
require remote sellers—catalog, Internet and other direct-ship merchants—to collect and remit
state sales taxes, just as all Main Street retailers do. This inequity gives remote sellers an unfair,
6-percent price advantage over Main Street retailers. It also robs local schools and communities
of hundreds of millions of dollars in badly needed operating funds.

Although the Michigan Senate stood up for Main Street by approving the legislation on a
28-8 vote, the bill was held hostage by political horse-trading in the House in the closing
days of the session. The fig leaf for House lawmakers’ inaction was the claim by some that
the Michigan Chamber of Commerce was concerned about the legislation’s possible effect
on manufacturers. That claim was a smokescreen, because those concerns have been
addressed and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce supports SB 433. And as evidenced by
the Senate’s overwhelming vote in favor of the measure, there was no need to stall action on
legislation of such importance to Main Street businesses.

The inaction means the Michigan House of Representatives has turned its back on Main Street.
Our members can and must fight back by taking the following actions:

• Ask your local merchants group, which understands Main Street issues, to formally support
SB 433.

• Ask your local chamber of commerce, which understands Main Street issues, to formally support
SB 433.

• Ask your local school board and local government, which are losing money needed to improve
school performance and other local services, to formally support SB 433.

• Call, write a letter or send an e-mail to your own state representative and to every member of
the House Tax Policy Committee. Emphasize that inequitable collection is unfair to Main Street
businesses that anchor their communities. Michigan’s hometown retailers lose business to
out-of-state competitors, and the state loses revenue that supports schools. The problem will
continue to grow. Lost tax revenue—currently estimated at $200 million and growing—
could eventually require tax increases to maintain education funding.

• Please send a copy of any resolutions and correspondence to Eric Rule (errule@retailers.com),
MRA’s director of governmental affairs.

Complete details of the issue, talking points and addresses of all House Tax Policy Committee
members and all House lawmakers are available online from MRA at www.retailers.com or by
calling MRA’s Governmental Affairs Unit at 800.366.3699.

This issue is critical to the future of Main Street retailers. Act now to help your Association
turn House lawmakers around.

Below are the members of the House Tax Policy Committee and how to reach them.

Send all letters to: Representative (name), P.O. Box 30014, Lansing, MI 48909

For back issues of Capitol F@cts on-line visit MRA's web site at http://www.retailers.com/capfax/capfax.html.

Specific comments or questions regarding this bulletin should be directed to:
Kathleen Wilson, Administrative Assistant to the Governmental Affairs Office at
kawilson@retailers.com.
Michigan Retailers Association
603 South Washington Avenue
Lansing, MI 48933
Phone: 517.372.5656
Toll Free: 800.366.3699
Fax: 517.372.1303
govt_affairs@retailers.com
http://www.retailers.com
http://www.mallofmichigan.com

Click here to find more information about any of the bills referenced above.