Bill > SB512

This bill, titled the "Consumer Inflation Reduction and Tax Fairness Act," amends Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act of 1975 to regulate interchange fees, which are fees charged by payment card networks (like Visa or Mastercard) to retailers for processing credit or debit card transactions. Specifically, the bill prohibits payment card networks from charging interchange fees on the amount of sales taxes included in a consumer's purchase price. Retailers will have the option for these taxes to be excluded from the fee calculation at the time of sale or to receive a quarterly refund for the portion of interchange fees attributable to taxes. If a retailer doesn't capture tax information at the point of sale, they can still get a refund by providing proof of collected taxes. The bill also defines key terms such as "interchange fee," "payment card network," and "retailer," and establishes a civil penalty for payment card networks that willfully violate these provisions, equal to the interchange fees paid on taxes in a calendar year plus 10 percent, and makes it unlawful to manipulate fees to circumvent these new rules.

Budget and Finance

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73234