Pack Rat owner off to capital

Congress to hear tax-fairness push

FAYETTEVILLE -- Pack Rat Outdoor Center owner Carolyn Crook of is packing for an overnight trip to Washington next week to speak to members of Congress on behalf of small-business owners about, among other things, sales tax fairness.

She also could get an award while she's there.

The National Retail Federation is footing the bill for her and about 150 other business owners, entrepreneurs, Main Street merchants and community retailers to attend the federation's 79th annual legislative fly-in, called the Retail Advocates Summit. She will arrive Tuesday, go to a dinner for attendees that night, and then sit in on scheduled meetings with members of Arkansas' congressional delegation and others about the retail industry's top public policy priorities.

Crook also is in the running to be recognized as America's Retail Champion, a new program the retail federation created this year to recognize outstanding retail industry and small-business advocates. A field of 44 nominees has been narrowed to five, of which Crook is one. The winner will be announced at the dinner, said Stephen E. Schatz, senior director of media relations for the retail federation.

"She's very active on behalf of small-business owners and very passionate about sales tax fairness," Schatz said of Crook. "She exemplified what we were looking for in a retail advocate."

Crook and her husband, Scott, started Pack Rat in their garage in 1973. As the business grew, they changed locations and built new buildings. She said Friday that the outdoor center will stay on West Sunbridge Drive in Fayetteville near the intersection with Gregg Avenue, most likely for good. Pack Rat sells outdoor gear and apparel.

As a long-time small-business owner, she can speak to the challenges owners face.

"Congress hears from big business; they hear from the people who have the wherewithal to advocate for certain things, but small businesses don't go to Congress -- we're just small businesses," Carolyn Crook said.

"We really want our legislators to know what's happening with small businesses," Schatz added. "What's the economy like? What's the impact of government regulations on a small retailer or impact of the increase in the minimum wage?

"That's really the whole point of the summit -- to amplify the voice of small retailers," he added.

Crook wants her voice heard on tax fairness, mainly the disparity between businesses that pump money from sales tax receipts into the local economy and Internet outfits that sell online without collecting a sales tax.

The Marketplace and Internet Tax Fairness Act, introduced by Sen. Mark Pryor and others, seeks to level the playing field between local brick-and-mortar merchants and online retailers without creating or raising taxes, Schatz explained. The bipartisan bill would limit the ability of state and local governments to impose Internet access taxes for 10 years while giving states the ability to enforce their sales tax laws on businesses selling to consumers located within their borders.

The measure has passed the Senate and could go to the House of Representatives while the small-business owners are in town lobbying for it. Schatz marvels at the coincidence.

"I don't know if that will happen next week but it's definitely in the cards," he said.

Business on 07/26/2014

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