AFSA on Interchange in WI
On Wednesday, October 20, AFSA’s State Government Affairs (SGA) team partnered with other trade associations sent a joint letter to the Wisconsin legislature regarding AB 587 and SB 572, which prohibit interchange on the sales tax portion of electronic transactions. In the letter, AFSA and the other trade associations argued that the bills would be technically impossible to implement and would harm consumers and small businesses. With current payment technology, the system that processes the transaction only recognizes the final purchase amount. It does not transmit information regarding the product, services sold, or the amount of sales tax collected. Overhauling these systems would require burdensome administrative costs and require consumers to pay for the sales tax purchases separately from any goods or services. In addition, if the bills were enacted, Wisconsin would be the only state with such a system. While there have been 30 similar proposals introduced in other states over the past 15 years, none have passed. A separate payment system for Wisconsin would put Wisconsin small business owners and consumers at an unfair disadvantage relative to other states.
The letter is also available under the direct advocacy section of AFSA’s website.
October 20th, 2021
