Britain’s three biggest tobacco companies are fighting for the right to display their products, asking for a judicial review of the Government’s upcoming ban on the display of cigarettes and other tobacco products in stores, Brand Republic reported. Britain’s Health Act 2009 requires all cigarettes, cigars, pipe and rolling tobacco products to be hidden from…
Interchange Debate Reaches Georgia Committee
The issue of interchange fees found an audience at the Georgia House Banks and Banking Committee, which listened to testimony last week on HB 1456-a bill that deals with the subject of interchange fees. Often late session bills are buried in subcommittees, but significantly Committee Chairman James Mills, who co-sponsored the bill, allowed the…
Could A Value-Added Tax Be Next?
President Barack Obama in an interview with CNBC Wednesday noted the possibility of a new value-added tax (VAT) is still on the table, although White House spokesmen insist it’s no longer being considered, the Associated Press reported. A VAT is normal in many European countries, which tax the value added at each stage of production…
Cosmetic Lenses Cause Conflict in Connecticut
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is demanding that convenience stores and other retail locations in the state immediately stop selling cosmetic contact lenses, the Hartford Courant reported. Noncorrective lenses can only be legally sold to consumers by licensed eye care professionals, Blumenthal said at a press conference. Dr. William Ehlers, a Hartford ophthalmologist, discovered the…
Gilbarco Expands Fuel Dispenser Warranty
Gilbarco Veeder-Root has upgraded the warranty on its standard fuel dispensers to cover use of ethanol content up to E15. The dispensers are currently Underwriters Laboratories (UL) approved for ethanol up to E10 under the UL 87 standard. The upgraded warranty will ensure its customers are covered if the current E10 standard is broadened to…
Colorado C-stores Take Step Toward Full-Strength Beer
Colorado’s convenience-store owners won a victory this week when the state’s House Business Affairs and Labor Committee approved a measure Wednesday that would allow c-stores of under 5,000 feet to sell products with a higher alcoholic content than the reduced-strength beer that they now are limited to selling, Denver Business Journal. The proposal won by a…
Are Your Underground Storage Tanks Safe?
Convenience store operators who don’t know state regulations concerning underground storage tanks (USTs) from a hole in the ground had better learn more about what’s in those holes and what the government is both offering and expecting from them. Federal mandates requiring a significant increase in biofuels production, for example, have spurred an increase in…