- The Arkansas State Senate is considering a bill that would eliminate the sales tax on food stamp-eligible groceries beginning in 2006. The goal would be to reduce the current 5.25 percent sales tax on food by one percent a year until it is gone, though the proposal does not go as far as one that was defeated last year, which would have eliminated all state sales taxes on food and medicine.
- Taiwan has extended the ban on free plastic shopping bags to all supermarkets and c-stores. PlanetRetail.net reports that as an environmental measure, many of these stores are now selling reusable cloth bags to consumers.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Schnucks has declined to carry Vital Voice, a free gay/lesbian newspaper, in its stores. Schnucks said that its decision was not a value judgment, but rather a matter of not carrying products with a limited consumer base.
The publisher of Vital Voice has urged a boycott of Schnucks by the gay and lesbian community, suggesting that “Schnucks continues to be very short-sighted when it comes to our community. Schnucks would never consider not carrying the St. Louis American. They know the African-American community is a vital customer. However, I really don't think they realize the economic impact our community has on them. If we were to take our business elsewhere, would they notice?”
- KC's View:
