LANSING – James P. Hallan, president and CEO of Michigan Retailers Association (MRA), issued the following statement following legislative approval of Michigan Main Street Fairness legislation that MRA has strongly advocated for years:
“We are extremely pleased that lawmakers passed Main Street Fairness legislation, and we look forward to Governor Snyder’s signature. On behalf of thousands of Michigan retail businesses and their hundreds of thousands of Michigan workers, MRA thanks lawmakers for stepping up and doing the right thing, the fair thing.
“This bipartisan legislation is an important victory for ‘the home team.’ It enables Michigan retail businesses to compete on a more level playing field with out-of-state merchants selling to Michigan residents. ‘Remote sellers’ such as Amazon will no longer be given an automatic 6 percent price advantage over Michigan businesses. That’s fair and it’s good public policy.
“Main Street Fairness is good for Michigan’s economy, good for our local communities, good for our consumers and good for our retail businesses. It has made no sense for government to give an advantage, at the expense of companies here in Michigan, to out-of-state businesses that don’t invest in this state, don’t create Michigan jobs, don’t pay local and state taxes, and don’t support local communities and organizations.
“Michigan will join more than two dozen other states that have taken similar action to ensure fair competition within their state. This legislation also hastens the day when Congress enacts a nationwide solution and provides a playing field that is 100 percent level.
“MRA’s work on this issue in one form or another spans more than 40 years. The explosive growth of Internet retailing transformed the problem from an aggravation to a jobs- and business-killing crisis in our state. This is historic legislation and we’re proud of what Michigan has accomplished.
“We thank Gov. Snyder and the four legislative leaders, Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, House Speaker Jase Bolger, Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer and House Minority Leader Tim Greimel for their positive action on this issue. Thanks also go to: bills sponsor Sen. Jim Ananich; Reps. Eileen Kowall and Rob VerHeulen, sponsors of similar legislation in the House; committee chairs Mike Kowall in the Senate and Jeff Farrington in the House; and all the members of both chambers who did the right thing for Michigan.”
