Katherine Lugar

As if Wal-Mart wasn't tough enough to compete with, brick-and mortar retailers have found themselves competing with more a fearsome competitor in recent years - Amazon.com. Retailers say they are tired of shoppers pulling out mobile devices to check online prices, but tempers reached the boiling point this week after retailers read about Amazon.com's new promotion. Amazon is encouraging the use of its mobile app by in-store shoppers and on Saturday will give consumers a 5% discount on items purchased through Amazon if they use its Price Check mobile app to compare prices at brick-and mortar retailers (see Wednesday's

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) thanked California Governor Jerry Brown for signing legislation that would help level the playing field between online-only retailer Amazon.com and brick-and-mortar stores across California. "For too long U.S. tax policy has favored online-only retailers like Amazon over the brick-and-mortar stores that create jobs and serve our communities, and it's time to end that special treatment and give all businesses the chance to compete and create jobs in a free and fair market,” said Katherine Lugar, RILA executive VP for public affairs. California joins Texas and a growing list of

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) welcomed Legislation introduced today by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) that addresses a fundamental unfairness in tax policy and closes a decades-old loophole that threatens retail jobs on Main Street. Antiquated pre-Internet rules allow online retailers without a "physical presence" in a state to skirt the obligation of collecting and remitting state sales taxes, giving those e-tailers a perceived price advantage over local retailers. However, online sales are still subject to each state's respective sales tax. This loophole puts the burden on the consumer to report the sales tax owed from an

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