![]() | ![]() |
![]() |
|
| |
|
![]() ![]() |
NYACS Will Actively Support… • Full and fair tax collection on cigarettes and motor fuelThe Spitzer administration’s failure to enforce the March 1, 2006 state law mandating collection of taxes on Indian sales of tobacco and motor fuel to non-Indian New Yorkers is inexcusable, especially in light of his public promises to enforce it. The casualties for non-Indian retailers, state and local tax revenues, and anti-smoking efforts are mounting. NYACS will pursue every legal, legislative and other tool available to attain the level playing field the law requires and our members deserve. Negotiated settlements that fall short of full and fair tax collection are unacceptable. The State must also more aggressively enforce its laws restricting untaxed sales of cigarettes via Internet or mail order. • Higher lottery commissions to reflect merchant’s higher costsDespite escalating labor, energy, insurance, taxes and other costs, the commission rate paid to lottery retailers has remained as 6% for more than 30 years. NYACS advocates increasing the commission to 8% to reflect the merchant's sharply higher costs of selling lottery games. By reallocating administrative resources, this increase can be achieved without impacting the net amount New York Lottery contributes to education. • Reform of CMSA minimum markup requirementsFor 20 years, the Cigarette Marketing Standards Act has discriminated against mom-and-pop stores by forcing them to pay suppliers a higher wholesale price for cigarettes than larger retail chains they compete with. With single-store operators comprising two-thirds of our retail membership, NYACS supports amending the CMSA to establish one, uniform wholesale price level that is acceptable to all NYACS member retailers and wholesalers. In addition, NYACS seeks to increase the state minimum retail markup on cigarettes from the current 7% to 18%, due to escalating costs of doing business. NYACS also supports a concurrent modest increase in the wholesale markup, keeping in mind that in 2002 the wholesale industry received a substantial boost in the form of a statutory 20¢-per-carton "handling fee" paid by retailers to wholesalers. • Legislative & administrative initiatives to deter the theft of gasolineHigher gasoline prices have increased the incidence of motorists filling their tanks and driving off without paying. To deter such thefts, NYACS supports legislation to make the penalty for such thefts more severe – suspension of the perpetrator's driver's license. At least 25 other states already impose this penalty. In addition, NYACS supports updating the barcode on the New York driver’s license so that cash customers can use it to activate fuel pumps, eliminating the inconvenience of having to prepay inside the store. • Reforming ABC laws to reflect a 21st century marketplace In order to maximize compliance by the industry, Alcoholic Beverage Control laws and regulations governing the sale of beer for off-premise consumption need to be clear, sensible, and reflect the realities of today’s marketplace. In many cases, they don’t. NYACS supports amending ABC laws and regulations so that licensed retailers of beer understand exactly what the rules are surrounding licensing, inventory, signage, supply chain, and other issues. • Efforts to reduce credit card fees for retailers and their customers The processing/interchange fees paid to banks and credit card companies by New York convenience stores now often exceed the typical retailer’s net margin on motor fuel. These fees are excessive. In many cases retailers are forced to pay fees for processing credit-card payment on the state and local taxes included in the cost of a gallon of gas. NYACS supports the National Association of Convenience Stores’ effort to address this issue at the federal level, but will also support New York State-specific initiatives to remedy this growing problem. In addition, NYACS supports state-level legislation to require credit and debit card companies and issuing banks to fully disclose to merchants all rules, rates, and terms for processing card transactions. • Injecting common sense into regulation/taxation of motor fuel retailing
• Approval for convenience stores and supermarkets to sell wine NYACS supports the concept of amending the Alcoholic Beverage Control law to permit food and grocery stores to apply for a license to sell wine for off-premise consumption, as long as there is no trade-off under which liquor stores would be allowed to begin selling cigarettes and as long as the change is implemented in a way that does not place convenience stores at a disadvantage with another class of retail trade. • Enactment of civil penalties for minors who possess tobaccoPreventing youth access to tobacco should be a shared responsibility among retailers, their employees, the community, and young people themselves. Since most underage smokers get cigarettes not from stores, but from adult relatives or acquaintances, the only way to stop teen smoking is to stop teens who are smoking. Therefore, New York must make it illegal for minors to possess and/or use tobacco, as 45 states already do. • Restoring fairness, balance to retail tobacco regulation/enforcementWide variations in enforcement practices from one county to the next are unfair to the regulated community. Statewide standards should be enacted to instill uniformity, fairness, and accountability in the way health departments carry out compliance checks, notify licensees of compliance check outcome, and adjudicate offenses. For example:
In addition, Public Health Law amendments enacted on 9/1/00 require that if a retailer's tobacco license is suspended for an underage sale, his lottery license is suspended as well. There is no justification for such linkage. They are two separate licenses, with separate rules, license fees, agencies, and enforcement procedures. They should be uncoupled. • The agenda of the NY Main Street Small Business CoalitionNYACS supports the legislative and regulatory agenda of the New York Main Street Small Business Coalition, an Albany-based alliance of statewide membership organizations representing independent retailers, farmers, truckers, hoteliers, and other neighborhood businesses. It provides a unified voice on statewide legislative and regulatory issues that broadly affect the ability of small businesses to contribute to New York's economic vitality. NYACS Will Actively Oppose…• Expansion of bottle bill to include non-carbonated beveragesNYACS opposes expansion of the deposit container law to include fruit juices, sport drinks, bottled water, iced tea and other non-carbonated beverages. Redemption and storage of returnable bottles and cans is already a nuisance for smaller stores; the additional handling and storage burdens and heightened sanitation risk would make it a nightmare. • Mandatory increases in personnel costs i.e. forced health coverageNew York retailers are already struggling with upward pressure on payroll costs triggered by the state-mandated three-step hike in the minimum wage (3rd increase to $7.15 took effect 1/1/07). NYACS vehemently opposes any further government-inspired, job-killing wage inflation or "pay or play" health insurance spending mandate such as that enacted by New York City and Suffolk County. • Higher taxes/fees directly impacting C-stores and their customers The state excise tax on cigarettes last increased in 2002 (from $1.11 per pack to $1.50). Since then, surrounding states have increased their taxes considerably, exerting political pressure on New York to increase again. However, the last increase backfired – New York is now collecting less revenue at $1.50 a pack than it was at $1.11 a pack, because so many smokers have turned to untaxed, unlicensed, unregulated sources of cigarettes. NYACS also opposes increasing beverage taxes and licensing fees. Media coverage has created concern that consumers are overcharged when they buy gasoline in hot weather, spurring a clamor to mandate temperature compensation at the pump. NYACS suspects that any gain to New York consumers would be so insignificant as to not justify the investment in new equipment. The temperature control debate should focus on objective analysis of facts, not hype or conjecture. A pending study by the National Academy of Sciences will likely provide these facts. In the meantime, consumers should be reassured that their local sealer of weights and measures inspects all retail gas pumps annually to verify that a gallon is a gallon. • Unwarranted marketing restrictions on retailers and wholesalers
• Changing the tobacco purchase age without holding minors accountable The concept of raising the tobacco purchase age from 18 to 19 merely nibbles around the edges of the youth smoking problem and will yield no meaningful progress. Since most underage smokers get cigarettes not from stores, but from adult relatives or acquaintances, the only way to stop teen smoking is to stop teens who are smoking by passing a possession law, as 45 states already have. • Excessive, penalty-driven DEC pump-and-tank enforcementIn parts of the state, the Department of Environmental Conservation has levied exorbitant fines against retailers for seemingly minor deficiencies related to monitoring underground petroleum storage tank inventories. The expectations of the Department in this area should be clarified, and enforcement practices from one region to the next made more consistent. The overall goal of enforcement should be corrective action and achieving compliance, not excessive punishment or revenue enhancement. • Required licensing of non-bank-owned ATM machines Some state legislators and localities are seeking to require retailers who own their own automated teller machines to pay annual fees to register them, ostensibly to guard against "identity theft." The state can easily compile a list ATM locations without requiring stores to pay $50 or $100 a year for the privilege of keeping the ATM they've responsibly operated for 10 years or more.
Home - About NYACS - Trade Show - The Industry - Membership - Contact Us - Issues - Tools
|