Thank you for visiting our website. I can thank you because you are here. Whether you’ve checked our directory, calendar of events, or visited this blog, we appreciate your interest and hope you’ve continued to discover plenty of useful content in every visit. But within the wide-ranging reach “Buy,” “Act,” and “Think” are a number of ideas and suggestions to better drive your individual actions, improve your choices, and bring our statewide independent business community ever closer together. We strive to do our very best.

If you were able to attend any of our events this year, you could see first-hand the efforts of our tiny staff supported by an army of local-minded volunteers. The enthusiasm surrounding our mission definitely propels our efforts and inspires hope for more events with greater geographical diversity in the future.

Despite tough economic times, Utah remains a top-tier state in which to do business and our universities continue to rank the highest for the creation of startup companies. Entrepreneurship thrives. But our locally owned businesses continue to feel the pressure of competition from big boxes. Whether or not we are emerging from recession, consumers are constantly faced with some important decisions when it comes to spending their hard-earned money. Granted, The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said that “In October 2011, real disposable personal income increased 0.3 percent.” So that’s cool.

But the choice remains as to where to spend that disposable income. 

Through these winter months, let’s remember to check with our friends, to check the Local First partner directory, and to look for options that support our community and strengthen our local economy first. That can mean dispatching with the “convenience” of “one-stop shopping” (that studies have shown lure consumers into purchasing more than what they intended to begin with) and planning a shopping list and efficient route that supports local businesses. For holiday shopping, a good plan can not only limit total gas consumption, it can save the hapless wandering around department store in search of some random present.

Dozens of our partners stepped forward during Local First week to offer discount coupons for our friends and followers of Local First. There was great media coverage of the event and some solid exposure for independent businesses throughout the state. In fact, notes Local First’s Marketing Assistant Kristen Lavelett, “We achieved hefty statewide reach from our little South Salt Lake Office by employing the power of the internet.” The Gift Shift Coupon was a great opportunity to patronize an independent business and receive the benefit of some exclusive discounts. Just for thinking locally.

Moving forward, we encourage you keep those enthusiastic business owners in mind for all your needs, whether making purchases for yourself or as gifts. They love talking about their businesses which are their passions, and they love sharing ideas about other ways to make local choices.

Stay tuned for some more locally tuned dialogue and, I hope, some fantastic gift ideas.

--Andrew Dash Gillman

Last week saw some superstars of local business come together in the fabulous atrium of the Salt Lake Hardware building. Why, you ask? And just who are these superstars of which I speak? You mean, you weren’t there? Well here’s why: Local First Utah’s second annual LocalMotive awards. What are the LocalMotive awards? My. Lots of questions. That’s okay. There are answers.

To summarize, the LocalMotive is awarded to key figures and businesses that are leading the way in the buy local movement in Utah. The award is given to those community members and local business owners who educate and inform the public about the importance of supporting our local communities while showing exemplary volunteer efforts that demonstrate creativity, vision, leadership, and citizenship.

The Winners

The winners this year are Ian Brandt, Heidi Rodeback, and Beth Bell.

The Independent Selection Committee chose Brandt, Rodeback, Bell from an incredible list of nominees (list forthcoming) because of outstanding actions and activities that elicited obvious change within their community, with additional consideration given to degree of ingenuity and determination.

Beth Bell

The nomination for Ogden-based Green the World shows that Beth Bell would be the absolute best candidate to receive Local First’s award because she, “encourages small, local, independent artists and businesses the opportunity to get their products/name/brand out to the community. Green The World encourages eco-friendly and sustainable items and promotes local items from a variety of artists/businesses—including home goods, school supplies, clothing, jewelery, and more! Green the World is a fantastic local business that supports buying local and shopping eco-friendly!”

Ian Brandt

The multiple nominations for Chef Ian Brandt extoll the virtues of his tripartite culinary kingdom in Salt Lake City. To begin, says one nomination, “They really are committed to providing local fresh, food to the SLC Valley. Educational workshops and classes are also offered throughout the year.”

But the owner of Sage’s, Vertical Diner, and Cali’s Natural Foods not only buy local as much as possible in terms of food (“Often,” says his nomination, “you will see the Chef Special of the day composed entirely of products grown or made in Utah.”), but he also chooses local for services, donates time as a private chef, provides entrepreneurs an outlet for their business at his market, and has established relationships with local farmers.

Despite all his passionate investment in time and money, “Ian is constantly working to better himself and his businesses and has set many goals for the coming year.” And, perhaps most importantly, Brandt has embraced a role as educator:  “he teaches everyone around him how to be more aware of their daily choices and to make a local choice as often as possible. Ian Brandt is a leader and role model for anyone who cares about supporting local. Even,” the nomination continues, “when it’s hard and might cost more, Ian chooses local because he cares about supporting our city and state.”

Heidi Rodeback

Especially heartening was the nomination for American Fork councilwoman Heidi Rodeback, who “has been a champion of local business and commerce since before she became a city councilwoman…Heidi has tirelessly worked to improve and support our city. As a councilwoman, she has become an even greater advocate for local commerce, as she clearly understands the fiscal benefits to the city of keeping city money in the city.”

But Rodeback’s nomination believes she “deserves to be highly commended for her efforts” not just because Rodeback encourages people to make local choices: because no better phrase describes her, Rodeback puts her money where her mouth is. The nomination tells a story of a woman who recently had the opportunity to move into a new house. For furnishing, “She pledged to purchase everything she possibly could within the city limits and from small businesses, and she did an admirable job.”

The purported “penny-pincher” simply understands how important it is to support friends, neighbors, and, well, fellow citizens.

Ultimately, “Her warm, neighborly tone and personal anecdotes can’t help but convince that she understands the temptation to go elsewhere, but,” says her nomination, Rodeback shows how “it’s worth the effort to stay in town.”

Thanks Again, Dearest Everyone

Thank you to everyone for their nominations, to the efforts of all the great nominees, and to the winners of this year’s LocalMotives.

And thank you to everyone for making choices and helping others understand how to make choices that strengthen our local economy.

Here’s a hint of what’s next: this holiday season, when you’re out shopping for the people in your lives, think about Ms. Rodeback’s initiative to keep her purchases in her own town. Think about what goods and services you can get in your own city or town, or close to the residence of the recipient of the gift. Many local business owners even offer gift certificates, which is a great opportunity to both invite friends to pay a visit to their own neighborhood’s businesses. Everybody wins. So rather than some preset quantity to a faceless big-box, why not give the gift of local?

Things by Andrew Dash Gillman. LocalMotive content adapted from Local First Utah. 

Local First Utah is fortunate to have more than two dozen incredible sponsors support Celebrate the Bounty this year.. Thanks to their help, Utah’s network of independent businesses and independent people from all walks of local life will grow ever stronger. And while their support has been building behind the scenes for the past several months, it all comes together in one special—even spectacular (get used to this splashy language)—night: October 20, 2011, at the Salt Lake Hardware building in Salt Lake City.

Celebrate the Bounty is a celebration, perhaps first and foremost. But it’s inherently about supporting local. In addition to contributing to Local First Utah, attendees will meet and engage with business owners, service providers, and an array of creative people all with common goals of keeping Utah independent by supporting a thriving, local economy.

For many, the food and beverage and the cool, jazzy sounds of The Daniel Day Trio will be at center stage, but Local First Utah is proud to thank all of our diverse sponsors who stepped up from our network of partners. While I will not be able to highlight every sponsor in-depth, I will provide links to their websites and, of course, encourage you to buy tickets for Celebrate the Bounty to see how much their support means to Local First Utah and to keeping Utah’s business economy vibrant and thriving. We also sent out a survey to our sponsors to get some feedback about their participation in Local First and our annual fundraiser, and replies will be featured throughout this series. The diversity of our sponsors, however, can be shown by a couple of random examples:

The Group Real Estate, LLC., for example prides itself on being “a local company dedicated to exceptional personalized service.” Let’s face it. The real estate market is a tough nut to crack, whatever you’re trying to accomplish. Because of their reputation for quality service, The Group has built a solid network in our community. “Whether you are buying or selling,” they point out, they “will provide you with quality agents, an aggressive marketing plan and a supportive staff.”

Meanwhile, Momentum Recycling will be on hand because they support Local First Utah and find Celebrate the Bounty to be, as observes Jeff Whitbeck at Momentum, "A great opportunity to develop closer ties with the local first business community!" But we're excited to have Momentum around for one other big reason: “If your Salt Lake City organization is dedicated to doing everything it can to help the environment, then we can help you maximize your impact.” Major events can generate a significant amount of waste. It is our goal to minimize that and thanks to generous support from Momentum Recycling, we will be able to do just that! Please take some time to contact Momentum if you have any questions about how your business can divert more of its waste stream away from landfills. (And check out Momentum's upcoming Zero Waste awards and viewing of "Bag It" at Brewvies on November 9th- sponsored by Momentum Recycling, Salt Lake City Green, Uinta Brewing and the Salt Lake City Corporation.)

That’s as good a note as any on which to end, so end I shall. Lesson to be learned (the following is not necessarily the opinion of Local First Utah; rather, it is the expressed opinion of this post’s exhausted and concerned author): it is important to divert recyclable waste stream from the landfill because without our combined efforts our local landfills will be overburdened before we know it and the health and environmental impacts of that reality could be disastrous.

That was a less positive note, after all. Try this note on for size: Money spent at local businesses keeps more than three times the amount of every dollar spent circulating locally than spent at chains. Okay, you’ve heard that one before. But it’s still true.

Next up: What Celebrate the Bounty Means to Me…and Me…and Me…

With the autumnal equinox recently passed, it goes without saying that most people’s minds are tuned to celebrating the bounty, and, specifically, to Local First Utah’s annual Celebrate the Bounty. Named in City Weekly’s Best of Utah 2011 as the “Best Benefit for Local Love,” Local First Utah’s Celebrate the Bounty is one part fundraiser, and 400 parts Local Love. That’s 400 local business owners, restaurateurs, service providers, and locally minded consumers and friends of Local First gathered under one roof to celebrate what makes Utah special: one another! Oh, and that roof? The historic Salt Lake Hardware building on 105 North and 400 West. It’s easily the most important event in the month of October, and you’re invited!

Tickets can be purchased online, but more on that later. We’re in the process of assembling into stylish interior of Salt Lake Hardware some of the state’s finest restaurants to provide comestibles, while adult beverages will be available for interested parties courtesy of Squatters and Castle Creek Winery. Among the culinary masters scheduled to appear are the brilliant minds behind the kitchens of Frida Bistro, Meditrina, Tin Angel, Pizzeria 712, Pago, as well as the equally genius contributions from Liberty Heights Fresh, Harmons, Beehive Cheese, Chocolat, and Tequeños Factory (The Finest Caribbean Snack).

If you’ve lived in Salt Lake and its environs in recent years, undoubtedly you’ve come across the Daniel Day Trio at one of their many performances and venues. Their “unique and comprehensive repertoire” of jazz deftly mixes classic hits with contemporary pop, hip hop, and R&B. The Trio will be providing the musical accompaniment to the ambiance-rich interior of Salt Lake Hardware.

Silent auction packages are currently being assembled from generous donors throughout our great state as well as nominations for our second annual LocalMotive Awards, the recipients of which are key community members and business owners who are leading the way to inspire others about the buy local movement.

But seriously, you can read all of this on our Celebrate the Bounty webpage.

What you can’t read is how all of these people shared in a common goal of strengthening our local communities not just in downtown, not just in Salt Lake, but statewide. Money raised from Celebrate the Bounty sustains a small team of volunteers and a couple of staffers to unite and serve a network of independently owned businesses and service providers in partnership free of any membership dues.

The Local First brand has been in development and strengthening for five years with the sole purpose of educating consumers, business owners, and government on the importance of making choices with their own dollars and in their own business arrangements that benefit our local economy and infrastructure. It’s people and businesses choosing local because we have a shared interest in the vitality of our state, cities, towns, communities, and neighborhoods.

Your participation in Local First Utah’s Celebrate the Bounty annual fundraiser (and party) directly contributes to that vitality.

Here’s how to join the party.

Preview by Andrew Dash Gillman

Day 3: The Final Day

It reads ominously: Day 3. Like the third day in a movie after the alien ship first occupies the expanses of the sky over the city or a virus takes hold of some remote Middlesex, Village, or Farm. Day three. Indeed there was a bit of indecision and anxiety hanging over the day as it was to be the last of our whirlwind tour through parts of southern Utah. In fact, we would only get to make a few quick stops in Boulder, Escalante, and Bryce Canyon City before finding ourselves obliged to make haste for home in time for our evening responsibilities.

Each place had its unique identity, but still felt tied to the greater whole: the unifying spirit of Local First Utah’s mission. Nowhere, perhaps, are our ideals better exemplified than in Boulder, where we awoke to a hot late spring sun.

More precisely, we awoke about seven miles down the Burr Trail, where we had securely tucked our camp the night before. We wearily found our way back to the town and set our sights on the Burr Trail Trading Post, where the coffee we drank was among the few (out of necessity) non-local ingredients (though it was appropriately sourced from Logan’s Caffe Ibis). The many crafts, essential oils, and miscellaneous goods, wares, sundries, and what-have-yous were largely all products of the community’s drive and imagination. It was certainly geared toward a tourist economy, yet it managed to retain an authenticity and tie to the people who call the high elevations of Boulder their home.

For more on the community of Boulder and, specifically, Alyssa Thompson’s Boulder Mountain Baking, please see a digital copy of the Fall 2011 edition of edible Wasatch or pick up a printed copy at one of the magazine’s advertisers.

After paying our respects at the Anasazi State Park Museum, we began our ascent up beautiful Scenic Byway 12, which soon wound its way onto a narrow ridge called The Hogback overlooking the canyons of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the Calf Creek Recreation Area. We briefly stopped by the Kiva Koffeehouse, constructed of locally sourced materials and tucked ecologically into the hillside, but soon departed, making our way along the several more extraordinary miles of the monument.

We arrived in the 1876 Mormon outpost settlement of Escalante and held a few more excellent conversations that solidified two realities: The first is that Local First Utah had a presence but there remained a divide between the local economy and the tourist economy, with no bridge between them demonstrating to the tourist economy the importance of their choices and their spending to the towns.

The second reality is that Local First Utah does want to return, but with a plan to help enable the remote areas to harness tools and resources to act independently but with the guidance of the central organization.

Once again, our limited staff and budget inhibits our dreams and our mobility, but we remain a truly statewide organization. Each community demonstrated the kind of unity and passion that we have come to expect of our unique places in all corners of our vast state, unified by common industriousness, independence, and will to persevere. The Utah family of small, locally owned businesses partnered with Local First Utah is one of the biggest networks of its kind for a reason: Utah chooses local out of respect for our state’s heritage and with the desire to see our neighbors and friends succeed.

As we passed through Panguitch on to U.S. Highway 89 en route to rejoining the masses traversing the land across Interstate 15, some of the heavy rain clouds characteristic of this year’s peculiar spring began to darken the sky. We were driving home, back into the rain and weather that was delaying the growth and green of springtime earlier this year. We realized that it had stayed clear and calm throughout our visit in Southern Utah, a place that had also seen unseasonably late and heavy precipitation.

We wished to linger longer and continue the conversation, but the timing was right. When we could return, we did not know. There is work now to be done back at the office, including, but not limited to, organizing case studies and research to further back up our mission.

But what else? How else can and should Local First Utah have an impact? The intrepid residents of Boulder and similar communities throughout Utah are increasingly remembering and demonstrating just how much is possible locally—from the food system to local energy and services, the self-sufficiency of previous generations is being reclaimed.

While our modern conveniences, manufactures, and diversions are clearly the product of the global supply chain, sent overseas for cheaper labor, lower overhead, and fewer regulations, the very least we can do is support our local vendors of these wares, ask for the best, and share what we have. Some things will never be made locally, but almost everything can be purchased from a local business. So what aren’t we purchasing locally that we can? What else are we capable of doing here that we haven’t been?

The real message of Local First Utah is independence through a thriving, energetic, and unified network of locally owned businesses and services. How can you keep more money—whether in any of Utah’s stunning southern outposts or in the sprawl of the Wasatch Front—local? Please share your thoughts below. Oh, and we’ll see you at Celebrate the Bounty!

--By Andrew Dash Gillman

You Can’t Spell “Local” without “Loa”

A short drive to Loa (past Bicknell’s internationally renowned Wayne Theater, home of the Bicknell International Film Festival) with Ted Winder and Local First Utah was promptly face to face with Wayne County’s Economic Development Director, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and some local business owners, including Greg Pace of Loa Builders Supply and Shane Brian, manager of Brian Farm Service Center. Here, former Local First Utah Statewide Coordinator Matt Monson unveiled the secret to success of Local First’s mission: “Growing the organization and creating that demand for local [results from] putting more in the hands of our business community, as a grassroots movement, to see things grow from the ground up.”

Even in Loa the pushback against globalization that local first movements embody is visible: Says Mr. Pace, “People come into our store, becoming more concerned about wanting to stay and buy local what they can.” That puts some of the responsibility on the shoulders of the small business owners to respond, further echoing the sentiment from Moab and Torrey: “For us as business owners, we have to do our part too…We have to be fair with them, meaning we have to make them want to come buy from us. So we have to be competitively priced—and you can’t be the cheapest on everything that you sell, you just can’t, and I think people understand that. But we have to do our part to make sure they feel comfortable spending their dollars here.”

It’s precisely the kind of service promise we think necessarily comes with being a business owner, as opposed to an employee at a chain. The business owner possesses the knowledge, know-how, and the passion to handle the needs of their customer, who are often their friends, neighbors, and partners in the local business economy.

“It’s not only price. It’s the quality of service,” adds Mr. Brian, citing a landscaping job needed by a resident who couldn’t get the local landscaper to return a phone call obliging that person to look out of town. “The Hallmark of local business has always been signature service. It’s the human experience,” as opposed to ghost interactions of online purchasing. “You might not even see the UPS guy,” laughs Mr. Monson. “We are communal creatures, and increasingly we have the option not to be.”

Human interactions, engaged consumers, and passionate service-oriented local business owners participating in a thriving local economy is the Local First Utah ideal. It’s an exciting thought that Ms. Coleman believes is happening right now: “Everyone’s coming back to local.”

Letters and Digital Image by Andrew Dash Gillman

Next: “Communities in Collaboration”

Finger on the Pulse

Understanding Torrey’s business identity, or feeling their “pulse,” means recognizing who they are as a community traditionally and where are they are presently, particularly considering the challenges of the economic downturn.

Janet Borg's impression of the community neatly sums it up: “One of the really interesting things you’ll find in the rural areas like this is it’s transitioning. 15 – 20 years ago we were independent; we didn’t really want to be bothered…now, the economy has affected us too, and people are finding partnerships, networking, [and] working together is much more effective and important than it ever has been before. So rather than exclusive silos we’re finding more of this collaboration.” It’s just good people who are working together in a common struggle, and improving their community as a result. When it comes to local first ideology, there’s room yet for education and implementation along with localized research.

Ms. Borg says that they’re “having a hard time…tracking and selling the concept of how much money does effect the local economy when you do buy local.” That said, the Wayne County Business Association has developed and printed a poster [see image at left] that precisely and poignantly explains the significance of buying local. But Ms. Sudbury says they want to take it to the next step, back it up with facts and case studies and “find out what’s not being purchased locally that could be…to make it a really meaningful campaign.”

The goal is to “engage people.” But how? What makes a campaign meaningful? What engages locals and visitors alike and calls attention to the importance of their actions?

Ultimately, we’re not just bandying about case studies and facts; Torrey wants to see useful data “fully engage residents and help the business owner.” There is some work yet to be done. Of course, the more self-sufficient smaller towns like Torrey likely do manage to better circulate dollars in the local economy, but a lot of people who move there shop at Amazon.com or go to the Wal-Mart in Richfield.

Words and Image by Andrew Dash Gillman

Next: “Honoring the Rural Lifestyle”

Story Highlights:

• Independent business and chains are united on the issue and are at a disadvantage to solely online retailers who claim lack of physical presence or “nexus” (further defined herein) justifies their not collecting sales taxes. But that gives them a 6 to 10 percent advantage over retailers that do collect sales taxes.
  
  
• Bookseller Betsy Burton highlights the matter of fairness in the issue.
  
  
• The fact online retailers don’t collect sales taxes actually do not make them go away, effectively transferring the liability for those taxes to the consumers.
  
  
• Pete Ashdown points to the Constitution to show only a federal solution can correct the disparity but alludes to the current political climate to show that Washington D.C. is not eager right now to address tax reform, especially if it involves raising them in any way.
  
  
• Convenience is the modus operandi of the internet, a driving force of that retail arena.
  
  
• Utah alone lost $180 million in uncollected taxes last year.
  
  
• If the government fails to address the issue, consumers can do their part to help local businesses, the local economy, and the society and infrastructure of their community by choosing to spend more of their dollars locally, whether at physical stores or their websites, ensuring that sales taxes are properly collected.

Introduction

Okay. A quick google search of the question of internet taxation doesn’t reveal all that much so you think, “maybe this whole ‘eFairness: Internet Taxation Forum’ isn’t for me.” But what was a hard sell on paper or on your computer screen was in person an engaging, even lively exchange on a rather complicated question. All that’s left to do here is recreate that dialogue in a way that captures its energy and relevance to everyone. And oh yeah. This affects everyone.

It is rare, but both chains and independently owned businesses have come together to address the issue of internet taxation because both kinds of businesses (and, indeed, all consumers) have a stake in the issue. Sales taxes are, in and of themselves controversial. But if we assume for a moment that sales taxes are a reality of American commerce (a challengeable assumption), then we ask whether all businesses shouldn’t be obliged to collect them with or without a physical presence (nexus) in a specific state.

Specific geographical presence matters because taxes not only vary (from 6 to 10 percent) from state-to-state, they also vary among counties and municipalities. The conflict has its origins in mail-order businesses who sought being excused from sales taxes for that very reason. When internet retails first took the same exemption no one took notice, but now that online sales are in the hundreds of billions and hundreds of millions of dollars in sales taxes are going uncollected, struggling municipalities are noticing.

Ultimately, there’s a two-way street running in and out of the question. The answer, in brief, seeks for 1) a level playing field wherein sales taxes are collected on every purchase, whether online or in a physical store and 2) challenging brick-and-mortar stores to bolster their internet presence in order to offer the same convenience of online shopping. Ultimately, one critical aspect of the discussion boiled down to that question of physical presence, as summed up by that one word: nexus. But more on that later. Back to the beginning, on the fair 18^th floor of the Zions Bank building in downtown Salt Lake, where we lay our scene.

The Discussion Begins and Panelists Offer Opening Thoughts     

Following a presentation of Earth Village’s video presentation showcasing the mission of Local First Utah, the esteemed master of ceremony, Robert Mayer, a professor from the University of Utah Department of Family and Consumer Studies, offered the panelists (click for panelist profiles, requires Adobe Reader) an opportunity to offer some opening thoughts. In terms of the total discussion, the opening thoughts are quite extensive, and convey much of the breadth of the whole discussion.

Bookseller Betsy Burton insists that there are no rational or legal reasons for the disparity: “This is, more than anything else, a fairness issue. Everybody is supposed to collect sales tax. And to pick one segment of the retail population and say that one segment doesn’t have to collect sales tax and the rest of us do is not only unfair, it seems to me to be un-American, sort of anti-competition and anti-capitalism.” Ultimately, Ms. Burton’s two broad talking points have pointed benefits for the economy: “If we collect from everyone equally we can either help to address our deficit or even more interestingly we could actually lower sales tax for everybody,” she says.

Dave Davis echoes Burton’s concern of fairness for both local and national merchants who are pitted against online retailers using loopholes in the tax code based upon an apparent lack of physical presence or nexus. “We don’t want government picking winners and losers,” says Mr. David, adding that another concern not adequately appreciated (indeed, not at all in most cases) by consumers is that since online retailers don’t provide a collection service for sales taxes on things purchased, they are in essence transferring the legal liability for that sales tax to consumers. Both the moderator and Mr. Davis relayed aspects of an anecdote about Scott Matheson Jr. being the only individual to voluntarily send in uncollected sales taxes to the state. In short, liability as a purchaser of goods online doesn’t go away if it isn’t collected, and the state tax commission, so inclined, could audit consumers for failed payment of use taxes for online purchases. It’s no small amount, either. In Utah alone, a study showed $180 million a year in sales taxes goes uncollected. Davis points to education and children’s health insurance as potential benefactors of collected taxes.

Pete Ashdown brought to the discussion a perspective of a business entity not taxed, and one who competes against other entities not taxed. Mr. Ashdown emphasized the internet as a realm driven by convenience, and most consumers when making decisions about email and internet hosting don’t make them based upon whether or not the company is in state. Ultimately, he points to both political and constitutional challenges to levying sales taxes on out-of-state enterprises: the Constitution in Article 1 Section 10, he reads, states that, “No State shall without the Consent of Congress lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State…shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States.”

So, shows Mr. Ashdown, even if the state did collect such use taxes, it would have to go straight to the federal government. In addition, there is political pushback largely by the Republican Party against the levying of any new taxes or elevated taxes despite the need for deficit reduction. As a result, there can be little hope right now of seeing federal regulations determining internet sales tax, which Ashdown sees as the only way it can be properly handled. Ashdown says the best hope for local retailers is to bolster their inventory and online presence to the point where they can offer the same convenience as online retailers, for those times when consumers are seeking it.

John Ward brought a couple of platforms to the conversation beginning with a relevant analogy in the form of the rise of the use of electronic payment, including credit cards for grocery and gasoline purchases based not necessarily upon economic challenges obliging the use of credit cards, but on convenience and rewards programs associated with their use. As CFO of Harmons, Ward does make the point that grocery shopping hasn’t experienced the same magnitude of migration to the internet, but that it’s gradually coming.

Merchants who wish to comply and collect sales taxes online still face the challenge of juggling dozens of local tax rates. While he’d like to see the state streamline its own sales tax, he agrees with Mr. Ashdown that “a national sales tax that is easy to administer, easy to collect, and easy to remit” is necessary to ensure full compliance. Even if the company looks to bolster its own online should the demand arise, he is pleased to report, “This year alone we’ve put almost $30 million into brick-and-mortar.” At the end of the day, Local First Utah heavily emphasizes and values the experience of engaging in our community through visiting local businesses and establishing working relationships with local business owners and their employees.

Scott Beck of Visit Salt Lake begins by suggesting that “We can all agree that the internet has changed our business model.” He cites the travel agent as a prime example of a kind of business person and business model that has dramatically changed with the conveniences and versatility of the internet. But since internet travel businesses like Expedia.com are an intermediary (a third party bringing together buyer and product, but who doesn’t own the product), there are concerns not about the remittance of taxes, since when a room is sold at a hotel by a website a tax is charged and sent to the locale where the room was sold, but about how the tax is calculated relative to the how much of the total cost of the room is collected for services and fees. From the perspective of his industry, Mr. Beck doesn’t see the sales tax clarification discussion as a matter of “whether, how, or when,” just when. But it has to be easy to understand and implement.

Nexus Defined and the Potential Power of Uncollected Sales Taxes

The discussion that follows goes into some greater detail about the various concerns the panelists brought to the table. The moderator highlights the $180 million in uncollected sales taxes, which Mr. Davis clarifies are solely from online entities who “claim they have no nexus in the state, therefore they have no obligation to collect that sales tax.”

The Utah State Tax Commission simply defines nexus as, “a business has an established presence in Utah. A seller with Utah nexus must collect and pay certain taxes, including sales and use tax.” Nexus is typically interpreted by online retailers to mean if they don’t have a physical presence in a state who define nexus this way, they are not in fact obligated to collect sales taxes (Wal-Mart has an online presence but also nexus in every state, Amazon, the most common example given for their sheer size, does not). But what Mr. Davis shows is that it doesn’t release consumers from the liability to pay. Again, from the Tax Commission: “Use tax is a tax on goods or taxable services purchased for use, storage or other consumption in Utah. Use tax only applies if sales tax is not applicable or if sales tax was not paid at the time of purchase. If you purchase an item from an out-of-state retailer for use in Utah and the retailer does not collect the tax, you must pay the use tax directly to the Tax Commission.”

Thus the joke brought up by the panel about that straight-shooter Matheson, a category into which Mr. Davis included himself, being in the know about the matter. That raises the question as to how many consumers were actually deliberately going online to avoid sales tax, which Davis suggests is likely most true of larger purchases, where seven percent is a significant amount of money. What most of the consumers who are saving that money don’t realize is that just because the retailer doesn’t collect it, as the use tax law shows they are still responsible for it. But clearly the substantial difference gives the online retailer an unfair competitive edge.

Attempting to Level the Playing Field

It’s not to say the whole issue has flown under the radar. Some states have, in fact, been more aggressive on the issue. But simplify, simplify, simplify. It has to be easy for everyone to participate. That would seem to necessitate legislation at the federal level, but many just don’t see it happening. With the question of taxes threatening to derail the federal government on the issue of the national debt ceiling, the question of sales tax reform doesn’t have much elbow room, despite the point that deficit reduction could be addressed by both unremitted sales tax and (arguably, properly) elevated tax rates.

On the other hand, leveling the playing-field may come through the reduction of local use taxes rather than boosting online sales taxes. Mr. Ashdown finds use taxes to be “regressive,” adding that sales taxes “punishes people who are buying food,” something that legislature has debated lifting for years, but has never done. The debate in this year’s legislature, in fact, was to raise the sales tax on food and lower the overall base sales tax, which struck the same chord among community watchdogs, who felt the tax would have the largest impact on low income families, where a few dollars can make a huge difference. Instead, Mr. Ashdown favors “lifting all sales taxes and going more toward an income-related model.”

The moderator raised a political question as to which party will lead the charge into tax reform since it appears that in the short term an answer won’t come out of Washington. Mr. Davis still boils it down to fairness, and even though Ms. Burton chooses to have an online presence for added convenience, she remains at a disadvantage for having to collect sales tax there. Davis goes on to give an example of grey areas between matters of nexus and affiliates (or subsidiaries), the latter of which large online retails use as a loophole to avoid sales tax collections—unless, as has often occurred, a state law is passed obliging the collection, in which case the major online retailers have been known to promptly sever relations and move operations to a more favorable state. In fact, Ms. Burton points out such maneuvering is often blatant, especially with respect to the major players in her industry: “That willingness to bludgeon [competition] and maintain a really unfair advantage is something I think we should all be concerned about.” Ms. Burton’s comments point to the way Local First Utah, and the friends of Local First are able to unite in a common cause with a louder voice to help “Keep Utah Independent” by bolstering our independent business community.

In fact, communities of voices uniting in a common cause at the local level are beginning to have a much greater impact on people’s decision making. And Scott Beck points to online opinion sites becoming the “curators” or “editors” through public consensus, or, “We the People.” The strength of “personal preference by populous” helps (along with editors and critics) to determine what works and what doesn’t, and the good news is that that voice is a very strong champion of the local and the authentic.

The panel proceeded to debate the likely outcome of proposing online sales tax requirements. Mr. Ashdown predicts it would be challenged and go to court, where it would lose, which Mr. Ward echoes. Mr. Davis is more optimistic. He says people are in the process of arguing the breadth of the definition of “nexus,” arguments he believes the states have the opportunity to win.

People just have to get interested in the conversation.

Ms. Burton reiterates an earlier point that the successful generation of online sales taxes will in fact lower the base sales tax rate statewide, which she sees as a conservative goal and issue. Mr. Ashdown reinforces the importance of simply providing value to a consumer.

Ultimately, Mr. Beck doesn’t think there is a government solution and that a level playing field cannot be changed because partisan politics are determined by inherently not level playing fields. But change, he says, happens at the consumer level: “We can spend more of our dollars locally as residents to affect [change] in a real, organic, ground level way that has more impact than what a government agency can do…We as the consumers have the most powerful opportunity to make the change.”

That's what we've been saying all along.

Words and Photos by: Andrew Dash Gillman

Local First Utah Presents Our 4th Annual Chef's Challenge at the Downtown Farmers' Market - July 2

 ~ In Celebration of Independents' Week 2011 ~ June 30th to July 3rd

local chefs. local ingredients. one Champ!

Competing Chefs:

Heirloom Restaurant Group

Forage

Tin Angel Cafe

Thank You To Our Sponsors

Downtown Farmers' Market

Downtown Alliance

Liberty Heights Fresh

Harmons

OC Tanner

Edible Wasatch Magazine

SLUG Magazine

Catalyst Magazine

ZIONS Bank

Heirloom Restaurant Group

Tin Angel Cafe

Forage

Crowell Advertising

The Moab Economy

When last we spoke, a bit of an economic divide in Moab was unfolding. There are many facets breaking down that divide, but in its simplest, gentlest form, the divide is between the seasonal, tourism-driven economy, and the year-round economy.

Some business owners provide year-round services, while others are largely only able to cater to tourism, offering goods of little or no interest to residents. The dialogue is tricky because on both sides of the conversations are legitimate business owners trying to make their living, which with many consumer goods isn’t feasible given the town’s size, hence the drift of business and purchases outside of Moab.

One hope is that some intrepid soul or brilliant entrepreneur is able to carve out a living selling necessities while also supporting themselves. That may not mean a competitively prices electronics store in which to purchase a 72” 1080p HDTV, but it could mean expanding lines of basic apparel and household needs outside of the outdoor gear that most outfitters provide. Village Market’s Mr. Washburn has seen the constraints of the economy and gas prices combine to lure in more local business, but he has also committed to sourcing local products, distinguishing his store both to residents and to tourists through dedicating a portion of its stock to the local economy.

It’s a great start. Yet the localization movement encompasses more than just food production. Moab is already harnessing healthier, renewable energy in the form of wind, a commitment that earned the city the distinction of being the Nation's First EPA Green Power Community. Maybe the next step is learning to use completely regionally available building materials in conjunction with modern building knowledge to maximize energy efficiency within households and businesses. Well, maybe if Moab were a transition town like the one depicted in The Economics of Happiness.

The Voices of Business Owners

Ultimately, Local First Utah can’t answer all the questions. But as we continued our listening- and fact-finding tour we did hear a lot of optimism. Desert Thread’s Cathy O’Connor notes, “A lot of locals really try to support us and also pay cash.” O’Connor’s colorful shop sits next to the 100% wind-powered Moab Times-Independent, though it was a somewhat recent move, part of the town’s “rent-motivated musical chairs.” The difference in rent between O’Connor’s shop just off Main Street and those whose storefronts face the main drag is astonishing. But the fact remains, most tourists simply don’t wander all that frequently off the main strip.

For O’Connor, it’s okay: “You don’t start a yarn business to get rich. But then our overhead is different too. You can sit on yarn for a long time.” That’s not to say she isn’t kept extremely busy with her business. “As a shop owner you don’t have the time to do the things Local First is doing.” And Desert Thread is one of those businesses that offers something not seasonally specific.

Around the corner, the BARKery’s Jessica Turquette has been fortunate to see her business grow though her property commands ahigher rent. But her specialty dog and cat boutique is definitely a year-round service, though obviously adventurous pets accompanying their owners into Canyon Country during the tourist season spurs a spike in business. Either way, the Farmers Market/Sam’s Club divide is apparent to Ms. Turquette too, but she acknowledges if you want, say, lady’s clothing that doesn’t say “Moab,” you’d have no choice but to pick it up on a trip out of town—even keeping a list for a special trip to Salt Lake (where people where clothes that say, “Moab.”) For many goods and some services, that may well be the only option. But who is going to drive their dog to Sam’s Club in Grand Junction when they can get everything they need in town, including a self-serve dog wash?

Making the Local Shift, where Possible

To be sure, Local First Utah’s philosophy maintains that neighborhoods thrive on diversity, and not everything can be local, let alone produced locally. All things considered, many business owners in Moab seem encouraged by the support of residents. Indeed, if more make the local shift by handling everything they can in Moab, they’ve done the most any of us can do anyway. In larger cities, where there are more options facing every consumer decision, the local shift is complicated even further by matters of price and choice. But if the next closest choice is two hours away, it may well be that the best choice is the local choice, even if it costs slightly more in Moab (which it also may not), offset by time and fuel and money diverted to unintended expenditures. As more options do become available locally, perhaps it will raise the standard of living and allow residents more time to enjoy the place most people come only to visit.

Team Outreach Spring 2011 split at the junction of Center and Main to better canvas the town in the short remaining time. While there won’t be time to mention all of our stops from this (or the morning’s work), it is worth mentioning that my afternoon’s refreshment was provided by the previously mentioned Castle Valley Creamery, whose delightful honey goat’s milk yogurt I purchased at the Moonflower Market, another partner business that is a “non-profit natural foods store featuring organic and locally grown produce, natural and organic foods, organic to go prepared deli items, and high quality supplements and personal care products.”

The staff at Moonflower was quite busy during my visit, providing ample time to photograph their commitment to the burgeoning local and regional food economy (see gallery below).

But what of that pending visit with Mr. Bob Owen at Fresh Moab Coffee? Well, we had no idea the treat that was in store for us as we stood by the Overlook Gallery peering down the dirt road, or even whether or not Mr. Owen was on hand. The ensuing discussion occupied nearly an hour, with Mr. Owen embodying several tenets of our philosophy. He was like a mouthpiece for our mission, and living proof of the benefits that come from dealing with a passionate and compassionate small business owner.

Alas, as I have already unburdened myself of a great many words on the first day in Moab alone, I shall reserve this discussion for a special edition blog post.

The sun is already lowering toward the high sandstone mesas and since Matt Monson and I had traveled several hours and talked to several business owners as well as city officials (and now the town’s restaurants were filling with patrons while many of the shops were closing down for the day), we decided we had earned ourselves a short hike. Directly surrounded by the expressive beauty of the Colorado Plateau of southeastern Utah, it’s hard not to answer the call of canyon country’s many random and wild places. It’s a place that has inspired innumerable poetic reflections but, alas, my own are not for this blog.

It would turn out that thanks to the organizational prowess of the Wayne County Business Association’s president Ted Winder, tomorrow’s schedule would be packed. For now, let’s just see if we can’t reach Hunter’s Arch…

Photos and Words: Andrew Dash Gillman