Large Retail Establishment Tax

Topics: Economic/Small Business | Workers Rights & Wages | legislation

In several states, including Maine and Minnesota, lawmakers are considering bills that would place a tax on the revenues of “large retail establishments” like Wal-Mart, which have receipts in excess of $20 million per year, and do not pay their employees at least $22,000 per year (including wages, and fringe benefits like insurance, or more than 25% of their workers are employed less than 40 hours a week. The large retail tax is built on a sliding scale: 1% tax on sales between $20 and $30 million; 1.5% tax on sales between $30 to $40 million; and a 2% tax on sales over $40 million. A Wal-Mart supercenter can bring in $100 million a year in sales, or more. The proposed Minnesota bill earmarks revenue from this tax to the state Treasury.