WASHINGTON REPORT
These businesses will face a higher tax burden on QIP investments than under previous law, an outcome that could have significant consequences, potentially slowing investment, employment, and output for those affected.”
At the time of this writing, standalone legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Doug Jones (D-AL). NGA anticipates that legislation will be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this spring.
average profit margin typically ranges from one to two percent, any opportunity to fully depreciate improvements made to stores will significantly help these entrepreneurs upgrade their stores, and more importantly, expand offerings and hire additional staff.
Lawmakers have acknowledged this error, which has been dubbed the “retail glitch” and are supportive of correcting this issue. Since there is no cost associated with the fix, it is among the few provisions in the new tax law that has been identified by the Joint Committee on Taxation as needing a true “technical correction.”
Along with a coalition of retail, restaurant and business organizations, NGA has been hitting the pavement, meeting with offices on Capitol Hill urging lawmakers to address this issue and fix the retail glitch as soon as possible.
NGA will continue to work towards a legislative fix for this retail glitch in addition to advancing policies that will protect and enable independents to grow and better serve their communities.
Independent supermarket operators are driving innovation in the marketplace, but in a fiercely competitive industry in which the
For more information on the Retail Glitch and ways to contact your Congressman, visit www.nationalgrocers.org/fixtheglitch.■
◀ “Protecting Retailers’ Confidential Business Data”, Inside the Beltway column, continued from page 22
“While FMI is fully committed to transparency in the broadest sense, the issue in this case is straightforward – it is about protecting confidential business information that retailers keep private.” iStock
Our industry already tracks this public information for business and customer trends, and 2) The USDA’s website also depicts where stores with licenses and redemptions by category are available in addition to where SNAP-authorized stores are located. Store-level sales data, we maintain, is confidential, similar to how much business grocers do in cash, credit, debit, checks or even gift cards.
Implications and Next Steps In its decision to hear our appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court agrees that this case requires further discussion and that the application of Exemption 4 could also extend to storelevel SNAP sales data. The case will also have broader implications for parties who submit sensitive information to the federal government and whether such information is subject to public disclosure under a FOIA request. Oral arguments are scheduled for April 22 with a decision expected later this summer.
We will continue to offer updates and analysis of the implications of this case. For more information regarding this case, visit the FMI website, www.fmi.org. ■
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