PMA Changes Fresh Summit Schedule
arketing Association announced format changes regarding its annual international convention and exposition, scheduled to run this year from Oct. 11-15 in New Orleans. Most significantly, the overall length of the event has been shortened by one half day, and will close at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15. Workshops will start a day earlier, on Sunday, Oct. 13, prior to the expo floor's grand opening. To that end, there will be a tighter focus on subjects presented in workshops and educational sessions, according to PMA officials, who said the changes are the result of attendee feedback and market research. The show will retain its market tours of area retailers, but they will commence immediately after the close of the show on Tuesday, rather than the following morning. Stores scheduled for this year's tour include units operated by Wal-Mart, Rouses Supermarkets and Sav-A-Center, a division of A&P. Officials said the companion programs and schedules for the international trade and the FreshTech technology conferences will remain largely unchanged.
Restaurants Dealt Blow In IRS Tip Tax Case
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday the Internal Revenue Service was correct in using "aggregate estimates" to calculate taxes that thousands of restaurants and other tip-receiving businesses owe from customer tips. The 6-3 vote means an establishment's share of Social Security taxes on its employee tip income may be based on a "reasonable estimate" of total tips received by all employees. The case stems from a 1991 challenge by a San Francisco restaurant which was taxed an additional $23,000 that year by the IRS after an audit revealed employees reported total tips that were significantly less than the tips appearing on the restaurant's credit card charge slips.
