HB 4396
Prevent credit card surcharge from including sales tax
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- Passed House of Delegates
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Bill overview
This bill aims to prevent merchants from adding sales tax to credit card surcharges. It defines key terms related to electronic payments and establishes a mechanism for payment card networks to exclude state and local taxes (like sales tax, hotel occupancy tax, and alcoholic beverage tax) from interchange fee calculations. Furthermore, the bill creates a civil penalty for payment card networks that fail to comply with these provisions, requiring them to refund any surcharges collected.
Key provisions
- Defines terms related to credit cards, debit cards, and electronic payment transactions.
- Excludes state and local taxes (sales tax, hotel occupancy tax, etc.) from interchange fee calculations for electronic payments.
- Requires payment card networks to either deduct taxes from interchange fees or rebate a portion of the interchange fee.
- Establishes a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation for payment card networks that fail to comply with the bill.
- Mandates refunds to merchants and sellers if they have been overcharged due to the inclusion of sales tax in credit card surcharges.
Who is affected
- Merchants and sellers who accept credit and debit cards.
- Payment card networks (e.g., Visa, Mastercard).
- Consumers who use credit or debit cards for purchases.
- The State of West Virginia (through its tax revenue collection).
- West Virginia Department of Revenue
Notable changes
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