Content about Tax

NEW YORK — Amazon is looking to expand its grocery-delivery and locker businesses, according to published reports.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings, the parent company of mass merchandiser Kmart, is throwing its support behind a bill that would grant states authority to enforce existing sales tax laws and require out-of-state online retailers to collect and remit sales taxes on sales made to their residents.

The Marketplace Fairness Act was sponsored by Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.; Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.; as well as Reps. Steve Womack, R-Ark.; Kristi Noem, R-S.D.; Peter Welch, D-Vt.; and John Conyers, D-Mich.

CHICAGO — A mere 2% increase in the payroll tax could represent $800 in reduced spending power per year for a person with a household income of $40,000, according to a new study by SymphonyIRI.

Symphony Consulting, a division of the Chicago-based market research firm, analyzed shopper behavior since the payroll tax increased on Jan. 1, focusing on the effect of the payroll tax on food and beverage consumption, including its effect on such dimensions as stores shopped, brands purchased and the effect on various segments and categories.

NEW YORK — Beauty company Revlon posted a net loss for the third quarter due to charges, as sales rose 2.9% thanks to higher net sales of Revlon color cosmetics and the inclusion of net sales of Pure Ice.

Net sales for the quarter totaled $347 million, up $9.8 million, or 2.9%, compared with the year-ago period. Excluding unfavorable foreign currency fluctuations, net sales rose 4.8%.

ARLINGTON, Va. — As of Saturday, California became the latest state to implement "sales tax fairness," in requiring online-only retailers to begin collecting sales taxes on products sold to California residents.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — As of Sept. 1, some 1.2 million Pennsylvanians will be able to go to bed at night secure in the knowledge that their jobs won't be drowned out by some online juggernaut. And by the middle of September, 3.1 million Californians will be able to breathe that same sigh of relief. That's how many retail employees there are across those two states.

NEW YORK — The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index continued on a downward trend in January, and consumer spending will face additional economic headwinds in 2012, according to Deloitte. The index tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Legislation that would level the playing field for brick-and-mortar retailers, including pharmacies, by closing a loophole that puts them at a disadvantage with online retailers has received praise from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wy., is the sponsor of the Marketplace Fairness Act and serves as the ranking Republican member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

WASHINGTON — Lowering the maximum corporate tax rate could allow CVS Caremark to accelerate investments in U.S. jobs, technology and infrastructure — all of which could ultimately help lower healthcare costs and bolster the economy. That was a key message that CVS Caremark president and CEO Larry Merlo had for the Senate Finance Committee during a recent hearing.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Net income for Safeway dropped due to a tax charge and the retailer's decision to repatriate $1.1 billion from its wholly owned Canadian subsidiary, although the company noted revenue rose nearly 5%.

Net income for the first quarter ended March 26 dropped to $25.1 million, or 7 cents per diluted share, compared with $96 million, or 25 cents per diluted share, in first quarter 2010. Excluding the tax charge, Safeway said first-quarter net income was $105.3 million, or 29 cents per diluted share.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — No matter how you slice it, the flexible spending account changes that are part of the overall Affordable Care Act aren’t doing a whole lot by way of saving healthcare dollars, at least not for patients. Indeed, about the only benefactors are those folks who have to make dollars and cents out of what might become the first casualty of the Obamacare healthcare package — those who have to explain how the administration plans to pay for this package, you know, by not raising taxes.