Commercial Integrator July 2021 - 12

AV AS A BUSINESS
Amazon, Google & Uber's Sly Impact on
Your Business
Regulations are changing to accommodate companies like Wayfair, Amazon, Google, and Uber.
There may be more impact on your integration fi rm than you realize. by Chuck Wilson
IT MAY SEEM ODD to write about Wayfair,
Amazon, Google, and Uber infl uencing
systems integrators, but major legislative
changes are happening as a result of their
impact on the current business climate.
Heading into the post-COVID-19 recovery
phase, here are four factors to watch
and consider:
1. Physical presence and proper
collection and remittance of sales/
usage tax. The 2018 South Dakota vs.
Wayfair U.S. Supreme Court ruling didn't
seem like it would have anything to do
with integrators ... but it might. There's
always been confusion about how an outof-state
company providing equipment
and materials should handle sales tax ...
and now we add remote manage services
to the mix. Many states picked up on this
ruling and began " revenue enhancement "
measures to collect tax dollars. Clarity is
the important thing here: No one wants to
go through a sales tax audit. Worse yet is
losing a tax audit and being fi ned. Will sales
tax become an even bigger challenge for
NSCA members with more regulation and
government intervention?
2. Exempt vs. non-exempt status and
the correct determination of employees
vs. contractors. This has always been
a little confusing. The NSCA community
uses subcontractors, temporary workers,
and labor providers as a normal course
of business. Now, layer on the ruling in
California about Uber drivers being considered
employees. California Proposition
22 and California Assembly Bill 5 (known
as the " gig worker bill " ) have reopened
the debate about who is - and isn't - an
employee. Relief is temporary, as US HR
6988 momentarily permits digital marketplace
companies (Uber, Lyſt , DoorDash,
Airbnb, etc.) to provide benefi ts to workers
during COVID-19 without actions establishing
them as employees or independent
contractors or establishing the company
as a joint employer under federal, state, or
Major legislative
changes happening
as a result of the
activities of some of the
largest organizations in the
world may very well aff ect the
activities of smaller businesses
as well. Integrators need to be
aware of what's possible.
local laws. This bill applies to digital marketplace
companies that provide fi nancial
assistance, health benefi ts, training, health
checks, and personal protective equipment
to individuals working in such marketplaces
from March 15, 2020, through June
30, 2021 - or through expiration of the
COVID-19 public health emergency. Will
the gig economy grow or shrink due to
government intervention?
3. Is Amazon a friend or foe to small
businesses? This global debate started
in Europe and made its way into U.S.
political and legislative agendas. Amazon
captures and monetizes user data to drive
future sales; arguably, small businesses
can't compete with that. Amazon has been
challenged with fair taxation payments;
it has leveraged the digital marketplace
to have many advantages over traditional
brick-and-mortar retail businesses. The FTC
is launching several investigations on the
12
Commercial Integrator JULY 2021
M&A activity of Amazon and companies
like Facebook and others for using their
perceived monopoly to essentially acquire
competitors. Will the government's intervention
place additional scrutiny on smaller
businesses acquiring competitors? Could
this impact our industry?
4. How does anyone compete with
Google? Is this something legislators
should be concerned about? And why does
nearly every state have a lawsuit against
Google? The app store, the ads, the analytics,
the monetized accounts: The Sherman
Antitrust Act has been on the books for
over a century, preventing unfair business
practices. Until this past year, people seemingly
forgot it existed. Now, several states
say that Google is using unfair leverage to
convince other online companies to stop
selling ad placements or be downgraded
in search results. Is that a punishment for
being too big ... or is that an antitrust violation?
Lawmakers have jumped all over this,
causing some manufacturers in the channel
to re-evaluate how pricing models are
structured and how one-off discounts could
be scrutinized with heightened awareness
of longstanding regulations.
Watch for our regulation and legislative
updates - and don't hesitate to reach out
if you're unclear about how they might
impact your business.
Chuck Wilson is CEO of NSCA.
Integrators interested in learning
more about becoming an NSCA
member should visit NSCA.org.
NSCA provides the integration
industry with government aff airs
advocacy and continuous updates
on bills that could impact the industry
(negatively or positively). Sign
up for legislative alerts by visiting
nsca.org/cq-roll-call
commercialintegrator.com
SIKOV/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
http://www.NSCA.org http://www.nsca.org/cq-roll-call http://www.commercialintegrator.com
Commercial Integrator July 2021

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