sales

Your Online Purchases Are About to Get More Expensive

Written by adminJuly 5, 2018

In 1992, the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling that declared states couldn’t collect sales tax on purchases made outside of the state. They could only tax physical brick-and-mortar stores that were selling the item within the state it was being bought.

For example, if you lived in Iowa and bought something from a Sears catalog, Iowa couldn’t collect a sales tax on that item because it was most likely being shipped from out of state.

Fast forward nearly two decades and you’ll see that same law applied to all online purchases, including ecommerce. If you bought something on Amazon, sales tax wouldn’t be applied to the price.

Brick-and-mortar stores have felt this gave online companies a huge advantage over them. If you had to choose between buying a couch on Wayfair verses going to local vendor and paying extra for included sales tax, where would you shop?

Now, the Supreme Court has reversed its previous ruling. In a 5-4 decision, the highest court in the land has decided that states can collect sales from all online retailers.

While this will inevitably make online shopping more expensive for the everyday consumer, the court felt the previous law was outdated and allowed businesses to avoid having a physical presence in certain states.

In explaining his vote, retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy said, “The Internet’s prevalence and power have changed the dynamics of the national economy. The expansion of e-commerce has also increased the revenue shortfall faced by States seeking to collect their sales and use taxes.”

Online retailers believe this is a bad deal for them, as it will push people to once again shop locally for items like electronics, furniture, and jewelry.

States, especially states that are cash-strapped and could use more tax revenue, are thrilled they get to tap into a $453 billion industry.

They saw their tax numbers dwindle as more people avoided the box stores in favor of online buying, literally taking money out of the state’s pockets. According to the Government Accountability Office, states have lost as much as $13.4 billion last year alone.

There’s still more they would have to do though, as a lot of states had different rules.

One big question online business owners have involves how this new law will handcuff smaller businesses. There are already laws on the books for bigger companies, but now that the doors are open for all businesses to get taxed, this ruling might completely kill smaller industries.

Companies like eBay and Overstock want the Congress to pass news laws that exempt small online businesses from being taxed to keep internet innovation strong.

It’s unknown if this ruling will change much, as most people choose to shop online for the convenience, but now that stores feel they are at an even playing field, we’ll see how the sales stack up this holiday shopping season and beyond

Written by adminJuly 2, 2018

Life Style

Independence Day is upon us!

This time of year incorporates four of my favorite Fs: Fun, Food, Family, and Fireworks!

It’s also a great time to find a good bargain, which is useful if you want to have a bit of fun while still maintaining a tight budget.

Here at Financial Helpers, we’re always on the lookout for great deals we can pass on to you! No one should have to skip out on holiday fun.

Thankfully, this time of year is ripe with HUGE savings, but only if you know where to look.

Here are three key areas where you can save the most money:

1) Food

Ahh, summer. The time of barbeques and get-togethers. The 4^th of July is a great time to get food at a decent price.

Meat is the main staple of any grilling activity, and stores love to stock up on this essential holiday food to meet the higher demand.

As we get closer to July 4^th, many stores might think they have too much meat that won’t sell in time, so they’ll slash some prices to help it move faster.

Also, right now is the perfect time to get your hands on some fresh produce! July is the peak of the growing season, so there’s an abundance of amazing fruits and veggies ripe for the picking.

Produce is generally cheaper in the summer, so take advantage and stock up while you can.

2) Holiday Decorations

You don’t have to shell out a ton of money for holiday decorations. Most dollar stores have them for…you guessed it…a dollar! They’re every bit as good as what you’ll buy in the store, but a lot cheaper and more budget friendly.

3) Clothes

You might think that the middle of summer is the worst time to buy a swimsuit or summer clothing, but in a lot of cases, it’s the best time!

Believe it or not, Back-to-School is right around the corner, so stores put out good deals to get rid of their summer stock to make room for fall.

Summer clothing is usually the most expensive at the start of spring, so now is the perfect time to take advantage of lower prices.

Great deals are out there! You’ll just have to do a bit of research and keep your eyes open to find them.

If you can, wait until a day or two before the 4^th to do your shopping, and keep the ads close so you can compare prices, you’ll definitely save a bit of cash and keep your budget in good order.

Written by adminJune 28, 2018

Politics

As countries across the world continue to play a nasty game of tariff tug-of-war, industries in nearly every sector are crying for mercy.

We reported last week that not everyone suffering, as steel industry in the U.S. is now booming. But what about the companies that use steel in their products? Mid-Continent Nail in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, decided to lay off 60 workers to help fight back against sluggish sales directly linked to Trump’s tariff that put a 25% tax on imported steel.

The company says orders for nails dropped and astounding 50%. Mid-Continent Nail is now pleading with the Commerce Department for an exclusion on paying tariffs if they hope to stay operational by Labor Day. They feel their only options at this point is to get an exemption, move operations to Mexico to stay afloat, or shut down altogether.

Now that President Trump is looking to retaliate against China’s retaliation of the first tariff, he’s eyeballing foreign-made cars as the next plan of attack. The problem is, automakers in the U.S. are trying to convince Trump that such a move would be horrible for the already fragile auto industry here in the States.

A 25% tariff on imported cars would be equal to taxing them $45 billion, increasing the cost of a new car by nearly $6,000. This higher cost would undoubtedly lead to job cuts and even plant closures.

“Tariffs will lead to increased producer costs, increased producer costs will lead to increased vehicle costs, increased vehicle costs will lead to fewer sales and less tax receipts, fewer sales will lead to fewer jobs, and those fewer jobs will significantly impact many communities and families across the country,” said the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers in a letter.

Right now, Trump is waiting on word from the Commerce Department to determine if foreign cars can be considered a national security threat, giving him the justification he needs to slap a hefty tariff on imports.

President Trump has also threatened to do the same to the EU if they retaliated against U.S. tariffs.

Trump said in a tweet: “Based on the Tariffs and Trade Barriers long placed on the U.S. and it great companies and workers by the European Union, if these Tariffs and Barriers are not soon broken down and removed, we will be placing a 20 percent tariff on all of their cars coming into the U.S. Build them here!”

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy for any company or industry to just pull up stakes and move to the U.S., especially when the labor costs are much more expensive to run a plant here. Rather, the automakers are hoping they can convince the president NOT to start a trade war over cars.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics released a report revealing that such tariffs would go deeper than a few jobs lost. We would be looking at a 1.5% decline in overall production over a 3-year period, which could cost nearly 200,000 jobs.

That’s only if Europe and China don’t retaliate with tariffs of their own. If that happens, the job losses could soar to nearly 625,000 in a scenario that would completely devastate the auto industry.

All we can do now is wait on the Commerce Department’s findings on the issue. It’s difficult to understand how foreign cars could be considered a national security risk, but that didn’t stop them from coming to that same conclusion with foreign steel

We will continue to cover this story as it develops.

Amazon Launches ‘Prime Wardrobe’

Written by adminJune 20, 2018

Life Style

Amazon is always looking for new ways to outsmart the big box stores and provide a service that’s more convenient for consumers.

Introducing Prime Wardrobe, the latest venture by mega e-commerce site Amazon, that will let you try on clothes before you purchase them all from the comfort of your home.

This innovative new idea will let you choose between 3 to 8 different items you want to try on, which are then sent to your home. If you like them, you can choose to purchase them. If you don’t, you have seven days to return them. Amazon will even provide you with a prepaid label.

While you won’t have access to every piece of apparel they sell on site, you still can choose from millions of items from some of the top brands in the clothing industry, like Levi’s, Calvin Klein, and more.

The only downside to this is that wardrobe deliveries can take between 4-6 business day, where going to a store is instant, but this can be a huge blow to box stores in a lot of ways. The number of clothes and styles you can fit into a store is limited and it can take quite a bit of time to find what you’re looking for.

By going on Amazon, you can type in what you want and choose to try it on before you buy it. Overall, this service targets the only reason why you’d need to go into clothing stores. The move was designed by Amazon to increase their clothing market.

As of 2016, Amazon controlled about 7% of the clothing market, but they hope this move will jump their share to about 16% in the next few years.

The majority of traditional retailers are failing to keep up with new technological trends as larger portions of sales goes on Amazon and other online giant marketplaces. While box stores continuously announce closures, Amazon continues to innovate new ways to steal their customers.

Written by adminFebruary 23, 2018

Saving

Anyone who has watched the news in the past few years can tell that Americans have a deep love-hate relationship with guns. Since our founding, guns have been a symbol of nationalistic pride and self-defense.

According to the constitution, our right to bear arms will not be infringed. The Founding Fathers believed there may come a time when every man will have to defend what’s his, even from his own government.

But, if you were to ask an anti-gun activist, those rules no longer apply while living in a modern, civilized society. After every mass shooting incident or tragedy that rocks our country, the calls for stricter gun reform and even a full ban of certain weapons grows stronger.

Yet, despite the cries from the anti-gun lobbies, there’s always one thing a national tragedy never fails to do: spike gun sales.

There’s a major gulf between both sides politically. As they appear to play tug of war with each other, there’s a real fear that the U.S. will go the way of Australia and other countries that gave up their weapons years ago after mass shootings.

The problem is, those other countries aren’t the United States. They don’t have a historical culture that revolves around guns. They don’t have a constitution that personally guarantees them the right to carry. And so, the debate continues.

Guns by the Numbers

Statistics show that there are 114 guns per 100 people in the U.S. It’s difficult to give an exact number on how many guns are out there, but it definitely outnumbers the current population. There are certain events we can look at to see what drove gun sales, and it goes back to fear.

For example, we saw a surge in gun ownership after Barack Obama was elected president in 2008. This event is what pushed gun sales far above the population at the time. Fear that his anti-gun agenda would eventually be fulfilled drove gun sales by the millions.

After Sandy Hook, gun sales broke historic trends and rose by about 3 million after the months that followed the tragedy. These same types of numbers can be seen after every tragedy that hits the country.

It’s not just the purchase of guns that skyrocket, but also the number of permits to carry and the stocks of gun manufacturers.

After the Las Vegas and Pulse nightclub shootings, stocks rose significantly for most of the top gun companies out there. NRA memberships soar.

Whether you consider it patriotic duty, defending your rights to freedom, or pure lunacy, there’s no doubt that Americans love their guns. And when fear drives them, they decide to weapon up to protect themselves and their families at any cost.

No one has all the answers to solving the mass murder crisis that seems to be plaguing our schools, churches, nightclubs, and streets, but the solution at present seems non-existent. This deeply divisive issue threatens only to continue to divide us further.

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