Local Job Creators Testify in Support of Swipe Fee Fairness
Bill would shield Texas small businesses from costly swipe fees when they are required to collect taxes on behalf of state and local governments.
AUSTIN (April 3, 2023) – On Wednesday, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and Texas Restaurant Association (TRA) will be testifying before the Pensions, Investments & Financial Services Committee. There, legislators will hear from NFIB and TRA members and local job creators in support of HB 3395, which would shield Texas merchants from costly swipe fees when they are required to collect taxes on behalf of state and local governments.
Ahead of the hearing, NFIB State Director Annie Spilman said: “Swipe fees have more than doubled since 2012. Our local job creators operate on thin margins, and swipe fees don’t help. As small businesses are forced to raise their prices, inflation exacerbates this challenge, since swipe fees are a percentage of each sale. We hope the Legislature will move to give small businesses relief from swipe fees, so they can continue to keep their doors open and meet their customers’ needs.”
TRA President & CEO Emily Williams Knight, Ed.D. said: “The vast majority of restaurants are small businesses, and together, they represent the state’s second-largest private sector employer. After years of skyrocketing costs due to the pandemic and inflation, local restaurants need relief. The State of Texas has a chance to provide relief with HB 3395, saving even small restaurants thousands of dollars a year. By protecting restaurants and other main street businesses from rising swipe fees on the taxes that they collect for the government, we can keep more revenue invested in Texas’ small businesses and the employees and communities they serve.”
WHO:
NFIB State Director Annie Spilman
TRA President & CEO Emily Williams Knight, Ed.D.
WHEN:
Wednesday, April 5
8:00 AM CT
WHERE:
Texas House of Representatives
Pensions, Investments & Financial Services Committee
The hearing will be livestreamed here.
MEDIA CONTACT
Tony Abruscato (Chief Marketing Officer) & Kelsey Erickson Streufert (Chief Public Affairs Officer)
[email protected]
About NFIB
For 80 years, NFIB has been the voice of small business, advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit www.NFIB.com. To learn more about NFIB in Texas, visit www.NFIB.com/TX.
ABOUT THE TEXAS RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION
Formed in 1937, the Texas Restaurant Association (TRA) serves as the advocate and indispensable resource for the foodservice industry in Texas. As a leading business association, the TRA represents the state’s $87 billion restaurant industry, which encompasses more than 53,000 locations and a workforce of over 1.3 million employees. Along with the Texas Restaurant Foundation, the workforce development arm of the TRA, the association proudly continues to protect, advance, and educate a growing industry as the TRA enters its 86th year. For more information, please visit www.txrestaurant.org.
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