Wednesday, November 9, 2011

The Retail Advocate

BPOL—Scenarios for Repeal Being Developed

The Retail Merchants Association through its advocacy arm, the Virginia Retail Federation, is continuing to work through a number of scenarios that will repeal the BPOL Tax (Business Professional Occupational License tax) while avoiding the loss of revenue to localities.

In October, the Virginia Retail Federation lobbyists met with the Governor’s Policy and Tax advisors to discuss a number of proposed scenarios that will not only repeal the BPOL Tax but also the  Machinery and Tools Tax paid by manufacturers and the Merchants Capital Tax paid in localities without BPOL.

We will have more to report in December.

Felony Threshold—$200 Why?

(a theft under $200 is petit larceny or misdemeanor, a theft over $200 is grand larceny or felony)

Security MonitorEach year there are numerous bills introduced that would raise the felony threshold in Virginia.  Each year the Virginia Retail Federation’s lobbyists respond with strong opposition to any increase and have been successful in maintain the $200 threshold.  Shoplifting and internal theft continue to take profits from retailers and potential tax revenue from the Commonwealth. Whether it is a crime of opportunity by a frequent store shopper, a teenager trying to keep up with their peers or organized retail theft, shoplifting doesn’t stop. However, it has been proven that those individuals who shoplift for a living make certain they steal under the $200 amount to avoid being charged with a felony. A Loss Prevention specialist for a national chain store reported that they have apprehended shoplifters who were traveling and shoplifting at stores along the I-95 corridor, and had with them a list of states and the felony threshold of each state. Virginia has one of the lowest felony thresholds on the east coast; the shoplifters know that and we want to keep it that way.

What do you need to do to help protect your business from shoplifting? Nothing will stop shoplifting completely, however, if you prosecute shoplifters and employees who steal from you the word will get out on the street that you don’t condone  thieves. The same holds true if you don’t prosecute; the word will get out that your store is an easy target and that nothing happens if you get caught so be consistent and prosecute all cases.

Civil Liability for Shoplifting/Employee Theft in Virginia

The Virginia Retail Federation will be pursuing amendments to the Virginia Code as it relates to how retailers may prosecute shoplifters and employees who steal from their employers.

Currently a civil demand, per the existing statute, cannot be pursued if any criminal action has been initiated against the suspected shoplifter/employee. Stated another way, if you apprehend a shoplifter, call the police and the suspect is charged with shoplifting, then you have no further recourse against the shoplifter or an employee that steals from the retailer. Under the current statute, Virginia is considered an either/or state in which if a civil demand is pursued then a criminal prosecution cannot, and vice versa.

The amendment we are seeking will enable the retailer to pursue a criminal and civil recourse against shoplifters and employees who steal from employers. The rationale behind the change in civil recovery law is to allow a retailer to not only recover the value of any damaged or lost merchandise but to also allow a retailer to recover the security and apprehension costs associated with the shoplifting or internal theft incident.

If you have any questions about these or other legislative issues that affect Virginia retailers, please contact George Peyton at 804.662.5500 or by email gpeyton@retailmerchants.com.  Or you can visit our website at http://virginiaretailfederation.com.

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