Welcome to MRHA....
MRHA is composed of owners who
are interested in improving their business to ensure both a profitable and
meaningful future in hardware retailing. To help achieve these goals, MRHA
offers a variety of products and services which can be used to help make your
business more efficient, more profitable and more in demand than ever before.
MRHA Mission Statement...
MRHA is an association
of independent retailers whose purpose is to aggressively provide
state-of-the-art services and information to help grow its members' business.
Hot News - - -
Study Claims IPL Costs $2.2 Billion
According to a study released today by the "Coalition for Retail Pricing
Modernization," the state's item pricing law (IPL) is essentially a $2.2 billion
annual hidden tax on Michigan's economy.
The study was unveiled at a news conference held this morning at the
headquarters of the Michigan Retailers Association in downtown Lansing. The
Anderson Economic Group (AEG) conducted the study.
"Our study found that outdated regulations like the item pricing law cost the
state billions and are stopping businesses from investing in Michigan," said
Scott WATKINS, AEG's director of market and industry analysis. "Item
price reflects the realities and perceptions that Michigan is stuck in the 20th
century and that government is hindering businesses from moving forward."
In his State of the State Address last week, Gov. Rick SNYDER said the
IPL was a contributing factor for Michigan's struggling economy and called for
it to go "out of stock" (See "Putting
A Price On Item Pricing Laws," 1/19/11).
Several weeks prior to Snyder's address, sources were telling MIRS that
he would likely start the GOP-controlled legislature off with a relatively easy
measure to support. Getting rid of the IPL might be it, particularly if it were
to move quickly.
Chris MICHALAKIS, legislative and political director of the United
Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), said the AEG study was misleading.
"This study from the Anderson Group is full of inaccuracies," Michalakis said.
"First of all, it implies that the reason why things cost more in Manhattan than
they do in Newark is because of price tags."
"It does not take into [account] very important factors like cost of living,
property values, transportation costs, taxes, and other important market forces.
Furthermore, the study over-sampled high-end stores in areas with stronger item
pricing laws."
"Second, it implies that eliminating item pricing will create jobs," Michalakis
continued. "However, the jobs they are describing it will create -- that of scan
coordinators -- already exist in Michigan. While we understand that the law
needs some updating, we need to ensure that we protect consumers and protect
workers."
"While the study claims that new technologies make this law obsolete, pricing
errors till occur frequently. In fact, had the Anderson Economic Group read the
entire study they referenced in their report, they would have noticed that
overcharges are very common and happen far more often than undercharges.
According to the AEG study, the IPL forces retailers to "spend millions" each
year on "an expensive, antiquated process" and hinders investments in newer,
more cost effective tools and technology.
"The Anderson Economic Group's study confirms what retailers have known for
years and makes a compelling case that it is time to modernize Michigan's $2.2
billion item pricing regulation," said Michigan Retailers Association President
and CEO Jim HALLAN. "According to the research, modernization would
empower job makers to take advantage of new technology for shoppers, save
Michigan families both time and money at the checkout and create an atmosphere
for job creation, investment and innovation."
The study also reported that:
In addition to the $2.2 billion hidden tax, the AEG study found that
Michigan's 1970s-era IPL slows investment, damages the environment, prevents
modernization enjoyed by shoppers across the nation and, thanks to new tools and
technology, is no longer needed in order to protect consumers at check out.
Michalakis said that just wasn't so.
"What is most alarming about this study is the promotion of Electronic Shelf
Labels," Mickalakis said. "Such labels are dangerous and can allow retailers to
change their prices throughout the day and engage in price discrimination, where
prices can go up and down throughout the day. Imagine the cost of a gallon of
milk fluctuating like the cost of a gallon of gas.
Other findings in the AEG study highlighted today included:
- "According to leading economists," prices on consumer goods in states using
IPL are 8 to 10 percent higher than states without it
- The $2.2 billion cost of IPL represents a $562 hidden tax annually on every
Michigan household
- The $2.2 billion cost is a conservative measure based on prices in grocery
stores and doesn't take into account potentially higher costs incurred by other
retailers
- The greatest burden of IPL falls on businesses operating primarily in
Michigan, and on those living in low-income or rural areas where there is often
less retail competition
- Michigan's IPL does not create jobs. According to the U.S. Census Bureau,
average employment per retail store in Michigan is 12.8, well below the national
average of 14.2
- Between 2,000 and 6,000 labor hours that could otherwise be used on customer
service are used per store each year on compliance with Michigan's outdated and
ineffective IPL
- Retailers spend between $6,000 and $10,000 each year per store on pricing
guns, tape and ink�costs that are passed along to customers
- New technology being used in other states to eliminate pricing errors, improve
the shopping experience and provide consumers with more information about their
purchases are not being used in Michigan because of IPL
- IPL creates significant, avoidable environmental damage. If only the smallest
price stickers were used on all items, it would take one regular sheet of paper
to price 330 items and a stack of paper the height of the Empire State Building
to price all of the items sold each year by large grocery stores in Michigan.
The study can be accesses at:
www.AndersonEconomicGroup.com.
Former Attorney General Frank
KELLEY
told MIRS on Thursday he didn't oppose getting rid of the IPL. Kelley
is a partner in the multi-client lobbying firm Kelley-Cawthorne of which retail
giant Walmart is a client (See "Stickers
Fall Off Item Pricing," 1/20/11)
Noel LaPorte
Capitol Advocacy Services Group
Small Business
Cringes At Health Care Reform Implications
The federal health care reform legislation did small businesses a bad turn in
the eyes of those organizations in Michigan representing them.
Scott LYONS, vice president of small business services for the Small
Business Association of Michigan (SBAM), says his organization opposed the
health care legislation.
Businesses of 25 employees or fewer don't have to provide health insurance. But
if they have a certain number of workers who make less than $50,000 per year or
less than $25,000 per year for businesses with 10 or fewer employees, new rules
come into play.
The legislation gives these businesses the incentive of a "scaled" tax credit of
up to 35 percent of the employer contribution until 2013. Businesses of 10 or
fewer people making under $25,000 are guaranteed the full 35 percent government
contribution.
From 2014 to 2016, these businesses will get a 50 percent tax credit for
employer contributions. But after that, it's cut off cold turkey. For some that
smacks more of sticks than carrots.
"After 2016 it's a hard stop, there are no tax credits provided at that point,"
said Ed WOLKING of the Detroit Regional Chamber. He said that makes
getting health insurance a tough decision for small employers.
Charles [OWENS], Michigan state director of National Federation of
Independent Businesses (NFIB), said his organization has some of the same
concerns, mainly that the conditions of these tax credits are too restrictive
and the availability of the credit is too short.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, very small businesses are the ones
the government should be offering incentives to. While 97 percent of businesses
nationally have fewer than 50 employees, it's the smallest ones that are
insuring at the lowest rates. Only 46 percent of businesses with three to nine
employees currently provide health insurance.
So it makes sense that the full 35 percent is targeted toward businesses with
under 10 employees, but it also leaves a hole in the thresholds. Businesses that
employ between 26 and 49 employees don't get any incentives.
But in 2014, states will begin offering affordable public health care through
"exchanges" that will be available to those at 400 percent of the poverty level.
Wolking is afraid this exchange will make employers with less than 50 employees
not want to provide health insurance, since it's not mandated and they know
their workers have an affordable option. They could pay their workers slightly
more instead of privately insuring them, or just cut their health insurance
programs altogether.
"There's an interesting play here too for employers who do offer coverage and
won't be required to offer coverage in the future," said Wolking.
And overall, with that 2016 cut-off of all government aid looming overhead,
business leaders aren't sure this is going to persuade anybody to start offering
health insurance.
"We don't think that the incentive is there," said Lyons.
Bigger Businesses Required To Provide Health Care
At 50 employees, businesses must either provide health insurance or pay a
$2,000-per-employee fine excepting the first 30 employees if even one employee
receives a premium tax credit for health care. If they do provide a health care
option and employees are still opting for the tax credit, they must pay $2,000
per employee or $3,000 per person receiving the tax credit, whichever is less.
Either way, it's a lot of paperwork.
"It's certainly a consideration. If you've got a growing business and you're
adding volume and suddenly you're at 49 . . . then you might rethink about
whether you want to add that 50th position or not," Wolking said.
And this isn't the only thing employers have to worry about on the
administrative end. For some, all this adds up to lots of math.
According to Lyons, employers have to offer "free choice" vouchers to their
employees who wish to seek insurance publicly, but it's a big equation. To
qualify, employees must be under 400 percent of the poverty level and the
premium has to be over eight percent of their income but under 9.8 percent of
household income.
It's a lot of that information employers just don't have, and relying on
self-reporting for things like household income could land them big fines if
they're inaccurate.
Both Lyons and Wolking say that businesses know these changes are coming through
the pipes, especially if they're part of a group. But there are still unexpected
things coming at them.
"There's lots of things out there that are going to hit that I think most small
employers aren't up on the details of," Lyons said. And he said part of that is
that everybody is scrambling to figure out the details, but some just aren't
known.
But details aside, Lyons said the bill isn't a wholehearted solution to
businesses who want to offer health care.
"This doesn't get at the root of the problem that small businesses and everybody
in America has a problem with, which is that it costs too much," Lyons said.
Noel LaPorte
Complying with the Red Flags Rule:
RedFlags_forLowRiskBusinesses.pdf
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Michigan Hardware Retailer
Your copy of the
publication is now available on-line.
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Homeland Security Issues New Rules to Tighten Employers’ Liability for
Employment Verification
The New I-9 Form
is Now Available
A PDF version of the form along with
detailed instructions is available for download at the following site:
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf
Michigan Retail
Hardware Association
4414 S. Pennsylvania Ave.
Lansing, MI 48910
Phone = 866-394-1710
Fax = 517-394-1782
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