That’s taxalicious!
This comes courtesty of Writing on the Wal. We’ve issued reports on Wal-Mart’s use of various tax schemes, including captive REITs, 80/20 companies, and captive employee leasing companies. All of these strategies have been used in the name of avoiding paying state corporate income tax. Now, one website has gone ahead and documented some additional tax issues, these of the unpaid variety.
Below are examples of tax liens placed on Wal-Mart, ranging from $104 to, well, a whole lot more. Liens are granted after notices have been sent to a debtor but the owed taxes remain unpaid. Its nice to know that, in addition to not paying taxes, Wal-Mart forces states to spend MORE money just to collect these debts. YAY!
EXAMPLE ONE:
Debtor Information
Name: WAL MART STORES INC
Tax ID: 710415188
Address: 702 SW 8TH ST
BENTONVILLE, AR 72716-6209
BENTON COUNTY
Creditor Information
Name: SC DEPT OF REVENUE
Filing Information
Filing State: SOUTH CAROLINA
Original Filing Date: 1/17/2003
Amount: $2,463,114
Release Date: 1/28/2003
Filing 1
Filing Number: 50458809
Filing Court: GREENVILLE COUNTY RECORDER
Filing County: GREENVILLE
EXAMPLE TWO:
Debtor Information
Name: WAL MART STORES INCORPORATED
Tax ID: 710415188
Address: 702 SW 8TH ST
BENTONVILLE, AR 72716-6209
BENTON COUNTY
Creditor Information
Name: STATE OF INDIANA
Filing Information
Filing State: INDIANA
Original Filing Date: 4/15/2008
Amount: $1,600,933
Release Date: 6/13/2008
Filing 1
Filing Number: 06819151
Filing Type: STATE TAX WARRANT
Filing Court: MARION COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
Filing County: MARION
Read on for more!
Wal-Mart: Examine the history of the tax liens in the millions
Posted by Corey Himrod on Tuesday, October 21 | 0 comments | Permalink
Wal-mart might be in violation of Connecticut sales tax law
Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell is ordering the state revenue department to revue possible tax law violations by major retail chains within the state.
According to the Hartford Courant:
Gov. M. Jodi Rell appears to doubt the state revenue services department’s assertion that it is “on top of” complaints from consumers that major retailers in Connecticut are violating state laws by charging a second sales tax when merchandise paid for with cash is exchanged.
This practice has apparently been the subject of many complaints in the Constitution State, where sales tax cannot be charged on an exchange item if a retailer has a policy of permitting exchanges on identical items purchased with cash and without a receipt.
The Courant’s “CT Watchdog” column has been stirring the issue up for a few weeks now - dozens of people have written in to the paper to share their story of double taxation. There seems to be a couple of things going on here. The first question is whether retailers are acting illegally by charging sales tax on identical exchanges where sales tax was paid at the initial point of purchase - this becomes a bigger deal the more expensive the item being exchanged becomes. The second question is where the additional sales tax has been going...has the state revenue department been quick to address complaints related to this practice?
The Governor’s office apparently thinks it has not, so we’ll just have to keep watching to see if penalties end up being levied.
Gov. Rell to order tax department to look into state tax law violations [Hartford Courant]
Posted by Corey Himrod on Monday, October 20 | 9 comments | Permalink
Weekly Update for Elected Officials: Oct. 17, 2008
Check out this week’s issue of the Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials – a compilation of Wal-Mart news from across the country and beyond.
This week’s issue centers on a new website launched by Wal-Mart Watch which details the retailer’s political contributions, positions on specific legislation, and spending on lobbyists and industry trade groups. The website, Walton Influence, also includes similar information on the Walton family and the family’s related enterprises.
In addition, you’ll read about a number of legal issues, the most important of which could be affecting the health of millions of Americans. Bloomberg News and the San Francisco Chronicle, among others, are reporting on how tests of several of the best-selling brands of bottled water (including Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club private label brands) have been found to contain mixtures of at least 38 different pollutants, including bacteria, fertilizer, and industrial chemicals. These findings could result in a lawsuit against the retail giant.
And finally, check out our “Stateside” and “Wal-Mart International” sections to find out what’s going on with Wal-Mart around the country and across the globe. You’ll read about how Maryland’s closing of certain corporate tax loopholes has resulted in millions of dollars in increased state funds, and why employees in Illinois are protesting Wal-Mart’s electioneering activities.
Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials [October 16, 2008]
Posted by Corey Himrod on Friday, October 17 | 2 comments | Permalink
PENNSYLVANIA SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART OPPOSITION TO HOLD MEETING NEXT WEEK IN NORTH WHITEHALL
Sustainable Development holds session Oct. 23 [Morning Call (Pa.)]
Sustainable Development will provide information on the status of the Wal-Mart proposal and offer share the harvest at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Schnecksville Grange, 5322 Route 873, North Whitehall Township.
Sustainable Development is a volunteer community organization dedicated to promoting responsible development that conserves natural resources while providing for the needs of residents in and around North Whitehall.
Posted by Luke West on Thursday, October 16 | 0 comments | Permalink
Nike to Wal-Mart: “Imitation is NOT the sincerest form of flattery”
Nike Inc., the world’s largest athletic shoemaker, has sued Wal-Mart for allegedly selling footwear that infringes one of its patented designs. Or so says the footwear giant, who filed a patent infringement suit against the retail giant on Monday in federal district court in Illinois.
The case revolves around two of Nike’s designs, both having been patented back in late 2004. As you can see by photos included in Nike’s complaint, Wal-Mart’s shoe looks like a pretty spot-on match, at least design-wise. Kudos to Wal-Mart’s apparel design team - if your own products aren’t selling, why not copy those that do? And who wouldn’t want a shoe with pogo springs right in the heel?! I couldn’t find the offending models online, although most of Wal-Mart’s own athletic shoes appear to retail for between $10-25...I would guess the original Nike version sells for just a little bit more. Several Nike models, in fact, use the copied design and generally retail for $90 and above. You can draw your own conclusions, though my guess is that these two shoes are similar on face value only - it wouldn’t surprise me if for $15, Wal-Mart’s springs were filled with marshmallow or tiny foam peanuts.
The retail mega-chain has faced a couple of infringement suits already this year - recently by Pepe Jeans, and prior to that by Adidas, which settled its case with Wal-Mart in September. You can read more about those two instances here, here, and here.
Read Nike’s complaint here.
Nike sues Wal-Mart, alleges patent infringement [Rueters]
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Corey Himrod on Thursday, October 16 | 2 comments | Permalink
Closing REIT loophole nets Maryland beaucoup dollars
The collection is from an undisclosed company - unnamed because of state tax confidentiality laws.
The REIT loophole issue, which focuses on the use of captive real estate investment trusts to avoid paying state corporate income taxes, has been in the national spotlight for going on two years now. In North Carolina, Wal-Mart saved millions of dollars in state tax bills by essentially transferring its properties to its own REIT and paying rent to itself, then writing it off as a tax deduction. These transactions were frequently followed by rather suspicious looking characters in black masks trudging back to Bentonville with big old gobs of money that could have gone to funding state programs.
North Carolina got wise to the scheme and assessed Wal-Mart for back taxes. Additional states have sought ways to close the loophole up, either through attacking it directly or by adopting combined reporting. Maryland is one of those states - last year Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot announced that his state would no longer allow payments to captive REITs to be deducted from state tax returns. Now following its first publicized audit since then, Maryland will receive $10.8 million in back taxes for a 3-year period from the unnamed company.
We’ve chronicled again and again that Wal-Mart is one of the worst offenders in this area. Simply closing the loophole is one way to fix it. Adopting combined reporting is another. At least in Maryland’s case, the effort has already resulted in nearly $11 million coming back into the state treasury.
Maryland collects millions after closing tax loophole [Washington Post]
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Corey Himrod on Tuesday, October 14 | 2 comments | Permalink
VERMONT SITE FIGHT: ST. ALBANS COUNCIL DROPS WAL-MART OBJECTIONS
St. Albans Council Drops Wal-Mart Objections [Fox 44-TV (Vt.)]
The St. Albans City Council has unanimously passed a deal with JLD Properties, the developer proposing to build a Wal-Mart store in St. Albans Town.
In the agreement, the city dropped its objections to the store’s construction. In return, JLD Properties agreed to spend at least $1.5 million in purchasing four downtown buildings and at least $1 million in renovating them.
The city could also receive up to $750,000 in cash payments, depending on when construction begins on the store, which would be located off of Interstate-89’s exit 20.
Calvin Bourn, a resident of nearby Sheldon, supports bringing a Wal-Mart to town, but resented the conditions set by the city.
“If Wal-Mart decided to come to town, they shouldn’t have to promise this, this, this and this,” Bourn said.
He said, despite criticisms to the contrary, Wal-Mart would increase business downtown by bringing in more traffic.
“Years ago when Woolworth and Ames [were] here,” Bourn said, “it was a booming town.”
Nonetheless, the Vermont Natural Resources Council continues to object to the store’s Act 250 permit - the environmental impact review required by Vermont law and necessary for large-scale construction. In previous conversations about the topic with Fox 44 Local News, the VNRC said it could support a Wal-Mart in St. Albans, but not at that location and of that size. The VNRC also took issue with potential storm water runoff and traffic problems.
Posted by Luke West on Tuesday, October 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
East Patchogue, NY. Wal-Mart Rounding Up Supporters For Long Island Fight
Wal-Mart is spending a lot of time and money these days behaving like a grassroots community organizer. On September 16, 2008, Wal-Mart announced proposed plans to build a new store in East Patchogue, New York, on Long Island. There are currently 5 Wal-Mart stores within 15 miles of this site, including the Wal-Mart in Centereach, New York, less than 8 miles away, and the Wal-Mart in Middle Island, New York less than 9 miles away. According to Wal-Mart, “The proposed store will benefit this Long Island community by offering low prices and shopping convenience for consumers, as well as providing new jobs and tax revenue.”
Wal-Mart began a public relations campaign to support their proposal to build in East Patchogue. The company issued a press release which read: “Wal-Mart announced it has filed plans to build a new 120,000 square foot store in East Patchogue, New York, at the northeast corner of Hospital Road and Sunrise Highway. Plans were filed with the Town of Brookhaven and are in the early stages of consideration. The new store will provide approximately 200-250 new jobs. The average hourly wage for regular full-time associates in New York is $11.53/hour. Both full-time and part-time associates are eligible for benefits including medical, 401 (k), profit sharing, stock purchases and bonus incentives. The proposed store also is expected to pay tens of thousands of dollars in local property taxes annually.”
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Al Norman on Tuesday, October 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
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