Councilwoman Elaine Hays criticized online shopping during a press conference on Tuesday, calling for Amarillo residents to instead shop local on Saturday.
At a press conference at Amarillo City Hall, Hays said that online shopping directs funds away from the Amarillo and instead directs funding toward companies and merchants outside of the city limits. Therefore, the City of Amarillo collects no tax revenue on those purchases and residents see no benefit.
“Without a doubt, we cannot ignore the impact that e-commerce and online shopping is having on our local retailers and the results of our local sales tax revenues,” Hays said during the press conference. Hays went on to state that the funding lost due to online purchases is a “leakage.”
Instead of shopping online this year, Hays is recommending that Amarillo residents shop local on Saturday, November 25th. November 25th is Small Business Saturday, a day in which local businesses are showcased instead of national retailers. Many local businesses take part in the festivities on Small Business Saturday, most notably at Wolflin Square shopping center. By shopping locally on this day, residents will have the chance to pay sales tax to help fund City operations.
The City of Amarillo currently uses sales tax revenue for a variety of services, notably to fund the operations of the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation.
Hays also said at the press conference that sales tax increases in Amarillo could go toward services such as paying salaries for new police officers.
William Ware, of Amarillo National Bank, also spoke at the press conference, calling for increased local shopping. Ware spoke on behalf of the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce.
The effort has been dubbed #BTWAmarillo, meaning “Buy the Way Amarillo.”
Photo by KFDA