SC small biz chamber opposes Amazon tax break

… – AP State – Wire – SC – Wire – State & Regional – Wire

Monday, Apr. 04, 2011

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce is the latest group to oppose a sales tax exemption for an Amazon.com distribution center that could employ 3,000 people in Lexington County.

The group says the state should not be encouraging people to buy online instead of from South Carolina stores.

Amazon has hinted it might not build the distribution without the tax break. The company wants lawmakers to exempt state residents from paying sales tax when buying from Amazon.

Gov. Nikki Haley doesn’t support the tax break worked out by former Gov. Mark Sanford.

Amazon was also offered a free site, property tax reductions and state job tax credits. The South Carolina Alliance for Main Street Fairness, a group representing local retailers and national chains, also opposes the tax exemption.

Click here for source.

Survey Says: business leaders should be more engaged

McKinsey Quarterly (www.mckinseyquarterly.com) had an interesting article that came out late last year entitled “How business interacts with government: McKinsey Global Survey Results”.  This global survey should serve as an eye opener for any executive who is serious about their company’s success.  According to the survey results, executives believe government is more likely to affect their bottom line than any other group besides customers.  Despite this fact, they don’t believe government is informed about the economics of their industry and, while they agree that business must be actively involved in shaping government policy to succeed, they don’t think they are particularly good at it.

 The results of this survey tell me that its time for business executives to take action and make a commitment to government affairs.  If government is the number two entity that can affect your bottom line, why ignore it?  It should be treated like any other aspect of your business – with a proactive approach that puts you ahead of your competitors.  All it takes is one change in the tax law or a new government regulation to push you from profitability to the brink of disaster.  It is an unavoidable reality that simply can’t be ignored.