National Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Online Sales Tax Collection at Time of Purchase
As a follow-up to one of my previous President’s Messages about the Marketplace Fairness Act, I wanted to comment about a recently conducted national poll by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
The results of the poll show that the majority of American consumers (64%) are aware that they are required to pay state sales or use tax on online purchases, if not collected by the online seller, when they file their state income tax. However, other research indicates that over 98% don’t report such purchases. The poll also shows that 78% of voters feel it would be easier to pay state sales or use tax on online purchases at the time-of-purchase, rather than through special forms or when they file their state income taxes.
This poll is proof that the public is aware that this is NOT A NEW TAX, but rather one that isn’t being paid because it slips through the loopholes in the law. The current loophole is draining our state and local governments of desperately needed revenues for education, health care, police, firefighters and teacher pay, etc. Estimates of lost sales taxes in Louisiana alone due to internet sales range up to $800 million.
There is now overwhelming support for the collection of online sales tax at the time of purchase. We need to close this loophole NOW before it doubles in size.
You can read more about the poll results in this ICSC Press Release.
Stirling Properties’ Townsend Underhill Elected to Board of Directors for St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce
Stirling Properties is pleased to announce that Townsend Underhill, Senior Vice President of Development, has been elected to serve on the Board of Directors for the St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce.
The Board of Directors is comprised of local business professionals who are passionate about smart growth and quality of life in West St. Tammany. The success of the Chamber is due in large part to the Board’s time, energy and willingness to voluntarily serve. Mr. Underhill will serve on the Board for the 2014-2016 term.
Collection Drive for The Covington Food Bank a Success!
Stirling Properties just completed a 2-week collection drive for The Covington Food Bank, whose supplies have been considerably depleted over the course of the summer. Since the food bank is in desperate need of food and personal hygiene products, the Stirling Stewardship Committee organized the drive to give employees and agents at Stirling’s Corporate Headquarters in Covington the opportunity to donate toward this worthy cause. Thanks to the generosity of everyone who donated items, the Covington Food Bank now has over 700 more items to help those in need. When the items were dropped off, they totaled 704 pounds (yes, pounds)!
A special thank you to Tracy Gandy for her efforts in organizing the drive, and to Dawn Plaisance, Monica Milazzo, Jessica Zeringue and Mark Dugan who donated the most items!
Pictured: (Top Row, L-R) Monica Milazzo, Dawn Plaisance, (Bottom Row, L-R) Jessica Zeringue, Tracy Gandy
About the Covington Food Bank: The Covington Food Bank is truly a community food bank. Supported by the generosity of the residents and businesses of the Northshore, the food bank serves the needs of the most vulnerable in our community by providing food, clothing, emergency assistance and dental care. The Covington Food Bank serves residents of St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington Parishes. Click here to find out how you can get involved!
Alabama Center for Real Estate’s Executive Exchange
With my recent relocation to the Mobile market as Vice President and Regional Manager of Alabama and Florida with Stirling Properties, I was invited to join the Leadership Council for the Alabama Center for Real Estate (ACRE) as well as become a lunch sponsor at the ACRE Executive Exchange Forum in Montgomery – all in one week! I used this very timely opportunity to introduce myself and Stirling Properties to the leaders of the Alabama real estate community.
Included in the forum lineup was the keynote speech from Dr. David Bronner, CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA), whom I found to be very relevant and instrumental in the recent success the state has had in recruiting new industry. Of the many great points made by Dr. Bronner, I was surprised to hear that RSA owns multiple television and radio stations around the country along with the largest billboard company in the U.S. and they use this media as a negotiating tool to help lure new businesses as well as promote their Alabama investments, that include the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and multiple high-end hotel and office properties located throughout the state. Another point Dr. Bronner made was “when it comes to real estate investment, it’s better to put your money into places you’re familiar with” which is why I and the owners of Stirling Properties made the decision to open an office in this market versus trying to run it from our corporate headquarters in Louisiana.
Stirling Properties was thrilled to be a sponsor of the Executive Exchange and I enjoyed meeting those leaders from around the state of Alabama that are making a difference. Stay tuned as we will be announcing the opening of our office very soon!
Louisiana Rising in the National Rankings
As the International Council of Shopping Center’s (ICSC’s) State Director for Louisiana, I recently contributed an article for the July 2013 edition of our Quarterly Membership Newsletter that I’d like to share:
As the returning ICSC State Director, I am extremely excited about the progress that we are making in the State of Louisiana on a number of fronts. Most importantly for our retail industry the economic and business growth trends continue to show a phenomenal trend for the region. Over the last 5 years, Louisiana has risen significantly across numerous national rankings – and the accolades keep coming! It’s hard to keep up with all the good news, which is a great problem to have. Highlighted below for quick reference are some of the rankings earned by the State of Louisiana over just the last quarter – very impressive for a state that was traditionally on the bottom of every list.
Louisiana Rankings – 2nd Quarter 2013:
- Top 10 Most Entrepreneurial States
CNN Money, June 2013
- #1 State with the Most Engaged Employees (most involved & enthusiastic)
Gallup, June 2013
- 2nd in the U.S. for construction job growth from May 2012 to May 2013
Associated General Contractors of America, June 2013
- 11th among “Best/Worst States for Business” based on CEO survey (most improved in the U.S. over the past 4 years, up 33 spots since 2009)
Chief Executives, May 2013
- Top 5 State in the U.S. for worldwide exporting in 1st Quarter 2013
World Trade Center of New Orleans, May 2013
- #2 Best States for Retirement
Bankrate.com, May 2013
- #7 among “Top Ten Competitive States of 2012”
Site Selection, May 2013
- 2nd Least Stressed State in 2012
Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, April 2013
- 1 of 6 states experiencing the largest increases in entrepreneurial activity rates over the past decade; 9th for 2010 to 2012 Entrepreneurial Activity with a rate of 400 per 100,000 residents (U.S. 300 per 100,000)
Kauffman Index, April 2013
- 2nd fastest revenue growth (up 170%) and 4th fastest growth in number (up 84%) of women-owned firms from 1997 to 2013
The State of Women-Owned Businesses, March 2013
- 12th in the U.S. for per-capita economic development project wins
Site Selection’s 2012 Governor’s Cup, March 2013
- Record-breaking $63.2 billion in merchandise exports in 2012, growing 15% over 2011
International Trade Administration, March 2013
- 3rd Best State for Banking
MoneyRates.com, March 2013
Louisiana’s cities and metro areas are also commanding positive national attention. Summarized below are some of the rankings earned over just the last quarter in these areas.
Notable Metro/City Rankings – 2nd Quarter 2013:
- Lafayette #1 overall among 100 Leading Locations in the U.S. for economic & job growth; #1 for Economic Strength, Year-Over-Year Growth & “Recession-Busting” factors among Top 25 Mid-Size Cities
Area Development’s Leading Locations for 2013, Summer 2013
- New Orleans and Shreveport among Top 20 Fastest Growing Cities in U.S.
NerdWallet.com, June 2013
- New Orleans is America’s Fastest Growing City
Forbes, June 2013
- New Orleans #3 among “Big Cities Winning the Battle for Information Jobs”
Forbes, May 2013
- Benteler Steel/Tube in Shreveport among “Top North American Deals of 2012” – 2nd largest investment in the U.S. during 2012
Site Selection, May 2013
- New Orleans #2 “Boomtown” in America, based on population and GDP growth
Bloomberg, April 2013
- Baton Rouge and Alexandria among “25 Best Places to Retire” out of 400 total U.S. cities
Forbes, March 2013
- New Orleans & Baton Rouge among Top 30 Best Cities for Young Entrepreneurs 2013
Under30CEO, March 2013
Louisiana has fared relatively well during the Great Recession and the national rankings show it. National and trade publications are taking notice and businesses are too. Louisiana is well positioned for a great future.
Stirling Stewardship Event Raises $25,000!
This past Friday, employees and agents gathered for the first-ever Stirling Properties Office Olympics, an event hosted by the Stirling Stewardship Committee to raise money for charitable causes. The event was a HUGE SUCCESS and a total of $25,000 was raised! Over 50 employees and agents were divided into 8 teams with each team choosing their team name, team colors, team song, and charity to contribute donations and winnings. Charities selected by the teams included March of Dimes, Red Cross, St. Francis Animal Sanctuary, St. Tammany Hospital Foundation (in honor of Lee de la Houssaye), American Cancer Society, Alzheimer’s Association, St. Jude’s, and Children’s Advocacy Center/Hope House. Teams collected over $20,000 of the total raised through personal donations and attaining sponsors for their team. Congratulations to our teams! Teams were able to earn points the week leading up to the Olympics by correctly answering Stirling Employee Trivia or the ever-popular “Where’s Marty’s Bobblehead” questions. Special points were also given to the team that raised the most money and the Most Unique Team. On the day of the Olympics, teams competed in 8 events – Golf Chipping, Fish Casting Contest, Wii Bowling, Trash Can Basketball, Shooting Contest, Hula Hoop, Root Beer Pong and a Tricycle Relay Race. Scores were tallied at the end of the day and medals were give to the top overall teams. The Gold Medal overall went to Team Nerdy…congratulations to Paul Mastio, Beezie Landry, Karen Bachemin, Courtney Lehman, Monica Milazzo and Judy McKee! Extra money was donated to their charity by the Stirling Stewardship Committee! Congratulations also goes to Jeff Marshall, Chris Abadie, Samantha Marshall, Peggy Sayler, Sharon Amacker and Nancy Stallings of Snail Team 6 who earned the Silver Medal. Townsend Underhill, Joseph Koon, Cyndie Quave, Jeanne Taravella, Amanda Pfeil, Dina Moran and Angelique Bates of Arrested Development took home the Bronze Medal. At the end of the day, in an effort to raise even more money, the ownership team volunteered to have pies thrown in their faces, but employees and agents had to outbid them for the right to throw the pie. Pies were smashed in all but one owner’s face. Employees were obviously motivated to smash a pie in an owner’s face as over $4,500 was collected toward the overall total. One pie even went for $1,200! A special thanks to the Stirling Stewardship Committee for all their hard work on organizing the event and making it happen. A fun day was had by all and we look forward to more events like this in the future!
