Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/704472
+1 646 728 3800 Fax: +1 732 694 1730 www.icsc.org Publisher PATRICIA NORINS Editor in Chief EDMUND MANDER +1 646 728 3487 E D I T O R I A L Managing Editor BRANNON BOSWELL +1 646 728 3488 Copy Chief DAVID S. ORTIZ Copy Editor KRISTINA ELDREDGE Art Director J O h N D. L EWIS Contributing Editors T OM BELL S TEVE B ERGSMAN M AR í A B IRD P IC ó J OEL G ROOVER MATT h UDGINS B EN J O h NSON B ET h MATTSON -TEIG R EBECCA M EISER A NNA R OBATON B ENNETT V O y LES A D V E R M IC h AEL B ELLI +1 714 313 1942 mbelli@icsc.org Sh EILA Ch ARTON +1 646 728 3545 scharton@icsc.org AMIE LEIBOVITZ +1 773 360 1179 aleibovitz@icsc.org SALL y STEP h ENSON +1 847 835 1617 sstephenson@icsc.org Production Manager DAVID STACK h OUSE +1 646 728 3482 dstackhouse@icsc.org I C S C O F F I C E R S Chair man E LIZABET h I. hOLLAND President and CEO TOM M c GEE Vice Chairman K ENNET h F. B ERNSTEIN Past Chairman S TEP h EN D. L EBOVITZ Treasurer GLEN h ALE For article reprints, call (866) 879-9144 or contact sales@fostereprints.com S H O P P I N G C E N T E R S T O D A Y SCT (ISSN 0885-9841) is pub lished monthly. VOLUME 37, ISSUE 8 © 2016, International Coun cil of Shop ping Cen ters, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020-1099; phone, +1 (646) 728 3800; fax, +1 732 694 1730. All rights reserved. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and ad di tion al mailing offices. Sub scrip - tions $70 per year; Canada and other foreign $99. Single- copy price $10 (May issue $20). For subscription informa- tion call +1 727 784 2000. POST MAS TER: Send address changes to Shopping Cen ters Today, Sawida Worley, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020-1099. Publications mail agreement No. 41482022, return unde- liverable Canadian addresses to PO Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill ON L4B 4R6. A m e s s A g e f r o m t h e p r e s i d e n t Washington hears us, loud and clear Dear Member: I t was terrific to see so many of our members from states across the country turn out for our recent Strategic Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. The Summit provides an important relationship- building opportunity where members meet face-to-face with lawmakers and their staff and raise awareness about the importance of our industry and the policy issues that impact it. This year we held meetings in about 250 congressional offices, a testament to your passion towards supporting ICSC's public policy efforts. E-fairness remains at the top of our agenda. Currently, physical retailers are required to collect and remit state sales taxes, while out-of-state online retailers are not. Simply put, e-fairness legislation would make clear that a sale is a sale, no matter where it takes place. Ad- dressing this loophole means simplifying an existing tax requirement, not creating a new one. More importantly, it ensures that communities have the dollars they need to help fund ev- erything from emergency first-responders to schools to infrastructure. Currently, uncollected sales taxes deprive states of an estimated $23 billion a year. With your help, ICSC will keep up the pressure on Congress to solve this problem. In addition to focusing on e-fairness, we are engaged on reforms related to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the U.S. tax code. ICSC is promoting the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2015 which is aimed at curbing the proliferation of "drive-by" lawsuits. In July a bill that provides business owners specific notice and a reasonable period to address compli- ance issues cleared the h ouse Judiciary Committee, and ICSC will continue to work with h ouse leadership to move the bill forward and secure a h ouse vote. As relates to tax reform, h ouse Republicans recently released a blueprint for reforming the U.S. tax code. We are evaluating the impact of the proposal and engaging with various industry associations on this important issue. In Europe ICSC is monitoring the impact of the United Kingdom's historic decision to leave the EU, while continuing to advance our members' interests in Brussels. We are in close touch with the British Council of Shopping Centres as well as all the shopping center coun- cils across Europe as events arising from the Brexit vote unfold. I anticipate a busy and productive year on the public policy front for the foreseeable future. And, as we demonstrated in Washington this summer, there is much that we can achieve by working together, As One. Tom McGee ICSC President and CEO