Posts Tagged ‘legislation’
Breaking E-Mail Marketing News: CAN-SPAM Act Update
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
The Federal Trade Commission announced in a press release today that it will soon be publishing clarifications to the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. The following topics are to be addressed:
(1) an e-mail recipient cannot be required to pay a fee, provide information other than his or her e-mail address and opt-out preferences, or take any steps other than sending a reply e-mail message or visiting a single Internet Web page to opt out of receiving future e-mail from a sender.
(2) the definition of “sender” was modified to make it easier to determine which of multiple parties advertising in a single e-mail message is responsible for complying with the Act’s opt-out requirements.
(3) a “sender” of commercial e-mail can include an accurately-registered post office box or private mailbox established under United States Postal Service regulations to satisfy the Act’s requirement that a commercial e-mail display a “valid physical postal address.”
(4) a definition of the term “person” was added to clarify that CAN-SPAM’s obligations are not limited to natural persons.
Keep your eyes peeled for it. The good news is that if you are already conducting an ethical email marketing campaign, these specifications should not affect you one way or another. If not, you may want to revise your strategy. For some guidance, check out Keeping Your E-Mail Campaigns Legal .
Tags: CAN-SPAM, E-Commerce and E-Business, email marketing, law, legal, legislation, Marketing, Marketing Your Business, news, Rebecca Button
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New York Passes Online Sales Tax Law
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
To follow up with my previous post Internet Sales Tax Looms for NY…Will It Catch On? I posed a question along the lines of "do you think it should happen/is it a good idea?"
As of June 1, 2008, the legislation will go into effect, requiring internet retailers to collect a sales tax on any orders being shipped to the state’s residents. This legislation was largely enacted to keep online retail Goliaths (namely Amazon.com) in check and attempt to "level the playing field" for brick and mortar stores in the state.
Amazon has now responded by suing the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance claiming "that since it does not have a physical presence in the state that it should not be required to collect taxes on shipments going to New York." In addition Amazon says the New York law is unconstitutional based on a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that claims states are prohibited from requiring out of state retailers to collect sales tax unless the company has a physical presence in the state. New York defends the law by arguing that the Amazon Associates program, which allows Web site publishers to receive commissions by promoting Amazon items through their sites make Amazon liable to collect taxes on its behalf for those affiliates who live in New York. (this paragraph courtesy WebProNews.com )
So while the question is no longer "do you think it should happen/is it a good idea?" I now pose these questions to you all: How long before other states enact identical or similar legislation and how do you think it will affect online consumerism?
Tags: Amazon.com, law, legislation, new york, ny, online retail, online sales tax, Rebecca Button, sales tax, state taxes, taxes
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Internet Sales Tax Looms for NY…Will It Catch On?
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
Interesting…very very interesting.
Do you think states should be allowed to levy a sales tax on online purchases?
Well according to a WebProNews.com post , New York is attempting to test those waters. Legislators are trying to pass a bill titled the "Amazon Tax" and are targeting online retailers who are not located in New York. The sales tax would be attached to any items shipped to the state. Proponents of the bill say it will help level the sales tax playing field for brick and mortar retailers and they estimate it will generate around $50 million in tax revenue for the state.
Opponents claim the tax is being introduced due to miscalculated spending and that this tax is being invented to compensate. Large companies such as Amazon have reviewed the bill and believe it will be challenged in court.
Thus far, the government has been reluctant to allow states to regulate internet transactions.
What do you think?
Tags: Amazon.com, government, internet, legislation, Rebecca Button, Sales, Tax
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Whose Side Is Your Accountant Really On?
Thursday, April 10th, 2008
How would you feel about hiring an accountant who puts the interests of the IRS before those of you or your business? What’s that you say? You wouldn’t like it? That’s what I thought you’d say…but what if I told you you had to?
Unfortunately, that may be the case.
(I mean, I won’t force you to but a much stronger influence might…what was their name again?…..oh right! The Government.)
The Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007 stipulates that those who prepare returns containing an understatement of tax due - which the preparer "knew or reasonably should have known" - will be subject to penalties amounting to "the greater of $1,000 or 50% of the income" the preparer received for that particular federal return.
The act also expands the definition of tax-return preparer to cover those handling any federal return, including those for estate, gift, excise, and employment tax.
According to a recent Fortune Small Business article there are a bevy of downsides to this new legislation including:
- The act has the potential to injure the close personal relationships many small businesses maintain with their accountants.
- Smaller businesses may need to prepare more documentation than previously required. In turn, accountants may be less apt to take clients at their word.
- In some extreme cases, accountants may ask for far less data, hoping they will be less liable the less they know, which would put more of the legal burden on entrepreneurs.
So it sounds a bit like intimidation doesn’t it? And it would appear that the government would end up with a lot of free (and somewhat covert) auditors. How do you plan to handle this new legislation? Are you going to write your congressman? Did you even know this tomfoolery was afoot?
And for those of you who do end up getting audited this tax season (for real) check out How to Survive an Audit of Your Business- And Live To Tell About It
Tags: Accounting, Finance, Finance and Accounting, government, legislation, Rebecca Button, small business, taxes
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There’s a Pot of Gold at the End of the Legal Rainbow
Monday, March 17th, 2008
The Regulatory Flexibility Act was passed in 1980 but continues to prove that it is a valuable piece of legislation for small businesses over 2 decades later. The act is designed to make federal agencies evaluate how their regulations will impact smaller businesses and then look into how to make it easier on them economically and still comply with the regulation.
The Small Business Administration recently released a report on how the RFA did in 2007. The results showed that it has "realized $2.6 billion in first-year cost savings and $285 million in annually recurring savings." How’s that for good news?!
For those of you who believe that the corporate world has our government wrapped around their big fat fingers, well, just remember that there is always a segment of the government devoted to making sure that small businesses survive and thrive.
And there, my friends, is your pot of gold.
(If you’d like to read the whole report, click here )
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Tags: Accounting, Finance, Finance and Accounting, legislation, Rebecca Button, Regulatory Flexibility Act, small business
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Credit Card Fair Fee Act
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008
For years now, consumers have enjoyed the benefits of being able to use their Visas, Mastercards, American Expresses, etc. practically anywhere there are things to buy. Consumers sign up for credit cards to pay off other credit cards and with the ease and accessibility of online shopping, the credit industry is booming.
What consumers don’t know (or didn’t) is that the cozy relationship between merchants and credit card companies, isn’t really all that cozy. Up until now, credit card companies have imposed what is called an "interchange" fee on merchants every time a consumer uses a credit or debit card to make a purchase. These fees are calculated independently by the credit card companies and are effectively hidden from the consumer who also ends up paying the fees in the form of product mark ups. The average cost per household is $350 a year. The total amount of interchange fees Visa and Mastercard collected in 2007? $42 billion.
Well, now congress is involved and things are looking up for merchants and consumers alike. Last week, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich. introduced the Credit Card Fair Fee Act. This proposed legislation according to the National Retail Federation website (who is, in fact, leading the campaign for the approval of this legislation):
"The Conyers bill would require credit card systems possessing “substantial market power” to negotiate with merchants to reach a voluntary agreement on credit card terms and conditions. If an agreement cannot be reached, both sides would be required to submit to binding arbitration by a three-judge panel appointed by the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission.
The arbitration proceedings would take place with a limited 60-day discovery period and other statutory deadlines, and the judges would be required to apply a market standard reflecting a perfectly competitive system where neither side had market power. Terms and conditions set by the panel would be in effect for three years, at which time the process would repeat itself. Both sides would receive limited immunity from antitrust laws in order to participate in the process.
The legislation requires that terms and conditions set under the process be available to any merchant regardless of size, industry or location. Individual merchants or groups of merchants would remain free to negotiate voluntary arrangements with credit card companies and their banks."
The legislation is coming about in response to a hearing in July 2007 where the NRF argued that the credit card interchange fees violate antitrust laws. If it goes through, consumers and businesses alike could see an impact on how much money they save. Stay tuned…
Tags: Accounting, congress, credit card, Finance, Finance and Accounting, legislation, news, Rebecca Button
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