Bill Text: NJ S2577 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits credit and debit card interchange fees from being applied to costs associated with sales taxes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-14 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Commerce Committee [S2577 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-S2577-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator STEPHEN M. SWEENEY
District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits credit and debit card interchange fees from being applied to costs associated with sales taxes.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning sales tax and credit and debit card interchange fees and supplementing Title 56 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The costs associated with the tax on sales assessed pursuant to the "Sales and Use Tax Act," P.L.1966, c.30 (C.54:32B-1 et seq.) or any other tax applied at the point of sale shall not be included in the calculation of any interchange fees charged in connection with the use of a credit card or debit card by a customer, in cases in which the fee is a percentage of the gross dollar amount of the transaction.
b. (1) Any person who violates the provisions of this act shall be subject to a civil penalty $5,000 per violation. The penalty prescribed in this section shall be collected in a civil action by a summary proceeding pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
(2) In addition to the penalties described in this section, any person aggrieved by a violation of this act may bring an action in Superior Court to recover damages.
2. This act shall take effect on the 90th day next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits the costs associated with the tax on sales assessed pursuant to the "Sales and Use Tax Act," P.L.1966, c. 30 (C.54:32B-1 et seq.), or any other tax applied at the point of sale, from being included in the calculation of any interchange fees charged in connection with the use of a credit card or debit card by a customer.
Interchange fees are fees charged by banks for the costs associated with the use of credit and debit cards. When a credit card or debit card transaction takes place, funds are transferred from the account of the bank that issued the card to the bank of the merchant. This transaction is facilitated by a card association, such as Visa or MasterCard, which charges the merchant an interchange fee for the transaction. The interchange fee is typically a percentage of the total amount charged by the customer for the purchase, plus a fixed amount. A portion of the fee is paid to the issuing bank, and a portion is retained by the card association.
Under this bill, the portion of the total price paid by a customer that is associated with any sales taxes may not be included in calculating an interchange fee in cases in which the fee is a percentage of the gross dollar amount of the transaction. Any person who violates the provisions of the bill is subject to a civil penalty of $5,000 per violation. Any person aggrieved by a violation of this act may bring an action in Superior Court to recover damages.
