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Log inUnused gift cards fuel fight
Unused gift cards fuel fight
by Outspoken on Thu Dec 06, 2007 5:46 am
Unused gift cards fuel fight
By PAUL CARRIER
Blethen Maine Newspapers
AUGUSTA -- Ever wonder what will happen if someone sticks a gift card from Circuit City, Target, Barnes & Noble or another retail chain into your stocking this holiday season and you lose it, forget about it or can't find anything you want to buy with it?
If you don't use it within two years, the card will become dormant. Once that happens, you'll inadvertently do your small part to fuel a face-off between the state and dozens of out-of-state retailers over who should get that $25, $50 or $100 that you misplaced or tossed aside.
It's a high-stakes game involving dueling claims of ownership and unresolved legal issues. And for state government, it represents more - a multimillion-dollar hole in the budget.
Experts say state revenue is likely to be $95 million less than initially expected for the rest of the two-year budget cycle that ends June 30, 2009. More than a quarter of that comes from retail chains' refusal to follow a new state law that requires them to turn over the money when their gift cards go unused.
Now, the state treasurer is asking the attorney general to look into what Maine can do to enforce the law, which took effect May 1. And state budget writers are trying to figure out how to compensate if the money isn't collected.
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4537005.html
By PAUL CARRIER
Blethen Maine Newspapers
AUGUSTA -- Ever wonder what will happen if someone sticks a gift card from Circuit City, Target, Barnes & Noble or another retail chain into your stocking this holiday season and you lose it, forget about it or can't find anything you want to buy with it?
If you don't use it within two years, the card will become dormant. Once that happens, you'll inadvertently do your small part to fuel a face-off between the state and dozens of out-of-state retailers over who should get that $25, $50 or $100 that you misplaced or tossed aside.
It's a high-stakes game involving dueling claims of ownership and unresolved legal issues. And for state government, it represents more - a multimillion-dollar hole in the budget.
Experts say state revenue is likely to be $95 million less than initially expected for the rest of the two-year budget cycle that ends June 30, 2009. More than a quarter of that comes from retail chains' refusal to follow a new state law that requires them to turn over the money when their gift cards go unused.
Now, the state treasurer is asking the attorney general to look into what Maine can do to enforce the law, which took effect May 1. And state budget writers are trying to figure out how to compensate if the money isn't collected.
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4537005.html
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
