RETAILERS NOT HAPPY WITH THE STIMULUS PACKAGE

So what else is new? It seems everyone has a gripe about the stimulus package (especially those billionaire bankers).

We hear that the National Retail Federation would like to see more done for the retail trade. In a letter sent to Congress, the NRF said it approves of the bill, but it doesn’t go far enough to get consumers into the stores (I say bring in free chocolates and men that can commit).

What the NRF would like to see is a national sales-tax holiday in March, July and October. Each sales holiday would last 10 days, including two weekends.

“The massive measure still fails to provide the direct and targeted tax relief needed to stimulate consumer spending,” said Steve Pfister, NRF’s senior VP for government relations. “With consumer spending representing two-thirds of GDP [gross domestic product] and consumer confidence at the lowest level, it is difficult, if not impossible, to foresee an improvement to overall economic growth until consumers regain confidence and resume spending.”

The NRF calculates that the tax holidays could save consumers $20 billion, based on the $236 billion in sales tax collected every year.

The federal government would then reimburse the 45 states that have sales taxes for the lost revenue. The NRF forecasts that retail sales will drop 2.5 percent during the first half of 2009 and decline 0.5 percent this year.