However, some ICSC members felt there was still work to be done. Watts also pledged his support for compelling retailers that sell goods over the Internet to collect and remit sales taxes, prompting a round of applause from ICSC members. Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Okla., pledged his support for collecting taxes on Internet sales. After the luncheon, members were addressed by several legislators during an afternoon session followed by a meeting at the Old Executive Office Building with two members of President Bush's senior staff. Grassley sponsored the bankruptcy reform bill that was debated on the Senate floor.
People think there's a free lunch and they use the bankruptcy code to get around paying.
In terms of the provisions that specifically affect shopping centers, Grassley said tenants that file for bankruptcy should have to live up to their word. Retailers should not be able to use bankruptcy to sell their leases to tenants in another line of business. The tenant mix of a mall is delicate. That's why there's a provision for bankrupt tenants that they have to sell to similar businesses. Sen. Dorgan is the sponsor of a bill that would extend the moratorium on so-called discriminatory and use taxes on the Internet but also would force sales taxes to be collected under a simplified system.