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House Finance Committee reports bill to bar card-network fees on sales-tax portion of transactions
Summary
The House Finance Committee voted to report House Bill 2090 after expert testimony and member debate. Supporters say excluding sales tax from percentage-based interchange fees would return an estimated $312 million to Pennsylvania merchants and consumers; opponents warned of compliance costs and operational risk for small businesses.
The House Finance Committee voted to report House Bill 2090, which would prohibit card networks from charging interchange fees on the sales-tax portion of retail transactions, after extended testimony from payment-industry experts and hours of member questions.
Supporters framed the bill as a narrow, practical reform. Dan Swanson, an attorney for the Merchants Payments Coalition, told the committee that the bill only targets the sales-tax portion of transactions and said states can require networks to exclude sales taxes when setting percentage-based interchange fees. "It would take 312,000,000 per year out of the Commonwealth," Swanson said, referring to his estimate of swipe fees assessed on sales taxes in 2023. He outlined several compliance options for networks, including changing fee formulas away from…
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