Bill Text: MA H3896 | 2009-2010 | 186th General Court | Introduced
Bill Title: Merchant fees on the sales tax portion of credit or debit card charges
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-01-20 - Public Hearing date 5/27 at 1:00 PM in Hearing Room B2 [H3896 Detail]
Download: Massachusetts-2009-H3896-Introduced.html
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Thomas M. Stanley
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To the
Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the passage of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to merchant credit card fees.
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PETITION OF:
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Name: |
District/Address: |
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Thomas M. Stanley |
9th Middlesex |
The Commonwealth of
Massachusetts
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In the Year Two Thousand and Nine
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An Act relative to merchant credit card fees.
Be
it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 255D of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting, after the definition of “Installment seller”, the following definition:-
“Interchange fee”, the fee a merchant’s financial institution pays to a cardholder’s financial institution when a cardholder uses a credit card or debit card as payment during a retail transaction.
SECTION 2. Said chapter 255D of the General Laws is hereby further amended by adding the following section:-
Section 33. Financial institutions may not charge interchange fees or transaction fees on the sales tax portion of credit or debit card charges where the fee or charge is a percentage of the gross dollar amount of the transaction.
Any merchant whose rights under this section have been violated may maintain a civil action for damages or equitable relief. Any person who violates this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of $5,000 per violation.
SECTION 3. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the meals tax and sales tax portion of a sale shall not be included in the total amount charged to the merchant by the credit card company.
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