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On May 25, 2011 Governor Bob McDonnell invited Retail Alliance to the House Bill 1587 signing ceremony. The Virginia Retail Federation, the Alliance’s statewide lobbying arm, was the lead advocate for three successful bills to reform the Business Professional Occupational License tax, BPOL. House Bill 1587 would allow cities and counties to rebate or exempt the current BPOL tax for new businesses during their first two years of operation. House Bill 1437 and Senate Bill 1408 give municipalities the options of charging BPOL taxes based on income - rather than gross receipts - or to rebate the tax if the business losses money during a given taxable year. Virginia Beach and Chesapeake plan to implement the exemption for start-up businesses right away.

RMA LegistlativeReception 2014 150The VRF held its annual Legislative Reception on January 20, 2014 at the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Richmond. 

The well-attended event provided a unique opportunity for legislators to talk with retailers and small business owners. 

Among the many attendees were Governor Terry McAuliffe, Lt. Governor Ralph Northam and Speaker of the House William Howell.  In his remarks to the crowd, Governor McAuliffe expressed his support for the retail industry and acknowledged the importance of retailers and small businesses to Virginia’s economy and employment opportunities.   

A sincere thank you to all who attended the event.   

To view this event's photos please click here.



Capitol Sponsor                      Host Sponsor                      Rotunda Sponsor

Dominion                  Hilton Garden Inn logo                             Puritan Cleaners

For the full list of all of our generous sponsors for the 2014 Legislative Reception click here.

Did you know the Virginia Retail Federation was the only organization that asks the Governor to provide independent retailers with a larger share of the proposed ABC licenses.

Did you know that in last years budget Governor Kaine placed a fee on every measuring device, scale, pump, etc.?