Senate committee debates bill to exclude sales tax and gratuities from interchange fees; no motion advanced

Summary

Senate Bill 1055, which would require interchange ("swipe") fees to be calculated on the purchase amount before sales tax and gratuities, drew hours of testimony from retailers, payment-industry groups and banks. The committee did not move the bill forward; the chair declared it failed for lack of a motion.

Senator Mark Harris presented Senate Bill 1055 to the Senate Commerce Committee, asking lawmakers to require that card‑processing interchange fees be calculated on the purchase amount before sales tax and gratuities are added.

Harris said interchange fees generally run 2 to 4 percent and argued that charging fees on sales tax — money retailers collect for the state and do not keep — is unfair to small businesses. He told the committee that, if enacted, the change would keep “over $36,500,000” in Idaho with local businesses rather than sending that money to out‑of‑state banks, a figure he said described last year’s cost to retailers.

Retail and small‑business advocates backed the proposal. Melinda Merrill of E. Gear and Merrill Public Policy, representing the Northwest Grocery Retail Association, told senators that retailers…

Senate committee debates bill to exclude sales tax and gratuities from interchange fees; no motion advanced

Summary

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