Bill > HB0967

This bill amends Tennessee tax law to require payment card networks (organizations like Visa or Mastercard that process electronic payment transactions) to exclude state and local taxes from the calculation of interchange fees (the fees charged to merchants for processing credit and debit card transactions). Specifically, the bill defines several key terms including electronic payment transactions, payment card networks, and types of taxes, and then mandates that taxes such as sales and use taxes, hotel occupancy taxes, alcoholic beverage taxes, and rental vehicle surcharge taxes must not be included when calculating the fees merchants pay for card transactions. Payment card networks must either deduct the tax amounts from interchange fee calculations at the time of settlement or provide a proportional rebate to merchants. If merchants cannot transmit tax amounts during the transaction, payment card networks must accept proof of taxes collected and credit the merchant's account accordingly. The bill establishes a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation for payment card networks that do not comply, payable to the merchant, and is set to take effect on July 1, 2025. The primary intent is to reduce the financial burden on merchants by ensuring they are not charged interchange fees on the tax portions of their transactions.

Business and Industry

https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/Billinfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0967&ga=114