Last Tuesday, the National Shoe Retailers Association (NSRA) and the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) joined forces in Washington, DC, to lobby on behalf of sales tax fairness for independent shoe retailers. NSRA President Chuck Schuyler and FDRA President Matt Priest met with key members of Congress, in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, to inform them of challenges faced by family-owned footwear retailers and explain why sales tax fairness for brick-and-mortar footwear retailers is crucial.
Discussing the Marketplace Fairness Act, Priest and Schuyler explained it would level the sales tax playing field for Internet and brick-and-mortar retailers. At present, Internet retailers are not required to collect sales taxes are rigorously as brick-and-mortar businesses. “Our members help drive the U.S. economic engine,” states Schuyler. “Both NSRA and FDRA have a vested interest in educating elected leaders and the public on the fact that tax fairness is sound fiscal policy.”
Priest continues, “Top policymakers are deeply interested in the concerns of small footwear business owners and what they are seeing in the marketplace. And our message of tax fairness for independent retailers really resonated.” He adds, “As we continue to have meetings with key policymakers each week, we will be adding concerns of NSRA members to our list of talking points, meaning nearly 100 percent of the industry’s retailers will now have a voice and advocate in Washington through FDRA.”
