Small business owners and allies gathered in Albany on May 6 to advocate for legislative reform regarding swipe fees. The proposed legislation, A.4017 (McDonald) / S.5587 (Skoufis), aims to exclude swipe fees on tax and gratuities, a change that could bring significant savings to consumers, employees, and merchants.
Currently, small businesses and consumers collectively spend nearly $1 billion annually on these fees related to sales tax and gratuities. This expense is not retained by the business owners but is instead passed along to the state or employees.
Small businesses operate with thin profit margins, which have been further reduced due to rising swipe fees from credit card networks. Since 2012, these fees have more than doubled for small business owners. High inflation in recent years has compounded this issue as swipe fees are calculated as a percentage of each sale.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) organized a “swipe fee” lobby day that included a press conference with the bill sponsors to highlight the issue. Throughout the day, small business owners and community partners met with lawmakers at the Capitol to discuss how these fees disproportionately impact small businesses.
