The Tavern League of Wisconsin supports Assembly Bill 587 and Senate Bill 572, authored by Representative Tyler Vorpagel and Senator Dan Feyen. Assembly Bill 587 and Senate Bill 572 would eliminate the imposition of credit card swipe fees on the tax portion of a sales transaction.
Retailers in Wisconsin are required to collect and remit sales tax to the state of Wisconsin. While they receive a small compensation to do so, the amount is capped and doesn’t offset the hassle of the work required to comply with state law. Credit card companies currently charge businesses a “swipe fee” to process credit card transactions. While this fee varies, it typically ranges between 1.2% and 4%. The swipe fee is applied to the entire amount of a transaction, both the product purchased as well as any state taxes that are applied. While it may be reasonable to argue that businesses should pay credit card companies a fee to process the transactions, small businesses shouldn’t be required to pay credit card companies a fee based on a tax they are required to collect.
U.S. swipe fees are among the highest in the world, and continue to grow unchecked. Retailers saw credit card usage surge during the COVID-19 pandemic as federal, state and local governments encouraged cashless transactions to stop the spread of the virus. Further, in general, credit card usage increases as the cost of goods increases. Please support eliminating the imposition of swipe fees on taxes and help reduce the burden on Wisconsin’s small businesses.