By: Nancy Lombardi

VAT’s Not Fair!

Americans traveling overseas often feel sticker shock when handed a receipt. That VAT (loosely defined as “value-added tax”) adds up quickly for shoppers. Will the U.S. government implement the tax, in some form or another, for Americans? What will it mean for the toy and licensing industries?

The idea of a VAT has been mentioned. While nothing has been proposed just yet, The National Retail Federation is, needless to say, against this. The obvious reason is Americans will, most likely, cut back on spending. It would be the only way to avoid this particular tax.

Nearly 64 percent of those surveyed for the National Retail Federation by BIGresearch said a federal VAT, regardless of the amount, would impact their spending on everything. If the government imposed a VAT of 15 percent and applied it to all purchases, 92 percent said their spending would be affected.

According to the survey, areas where consumers would cut back the most if a “federal sales tax” or VAT were created would include:

• eating out—83 percent
• clothing or accessories—80 percent
• food/groceries—74 percent
• entertainment—72 percent
• vacation travel—72 percent

Additionally, half said a VAT would influence their spending on a home (50 percent) while two-thirds said it would impact automobile purchases (63 percent), according to the study.

The NRF unveiled an informational web page to address concerns: http://www.nrf.com/vat

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What’s for Dinner?

Will you be in Dallas for Fall Toy Preview? Here are the top restaurants for entertaining clients, according to Trip Advisor.

1. Al Biernat’s
2. Three Forks
3. The Place at Perry’s
4. Carolina’s Mexican Cuisine
5. Toulouse Café and Bar
6. The Palm
7. Ruth’s Chris Steak House
8. Benihana
9. Sullivan’s Steakhouse of Dallas
10. Dali Wine Bar & Cellar

aNb Media enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Charlie Palmer at The Joule during last year’s Fall Toy Preview. Do you have any suggestions for us for this year? We are especially interested in finding something that the locals enjoy.

Source: TripAdvisor.com

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Top Applications on Facebook on September 1, 2010:

Application — Monthly Average Users

1. FarmVille — 61,965,319
2. FrontierVille — 36,953,499
3. Texas HoldEm Poker — 32,777,133
4. Phrases — 29,382,485
5. Mafia Wars Game — 25,133,166
6. Café World — 22,651,611
7. Causes — 17,053,968
8. Treasure Isle — 16,037,300
9. PetVille — 14,389,606
10. MindJolt Games — 14,060,769

Source: AppData.com

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