The International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), the SuperPetExpo and the National Association of Consumer Shows have responded to Upper Merion Township’s (King of Prussia, PA) imposition of an itinerant merchant tax, which requires show organizers to pay $30-$50 per exhibitor selling products at exhibitions in the Valley Forge Convention Center. Each organization has written a letter to the township’s board of supervisors, urging them to rescind the tax. According to the industry players, no other township or county across the country imposes such a fee, which is prohibitive to organizers doing business in the area.

IAEE President Steven Hacker’s letter states: “We realize that all municipalities, including Upper Merion, are significantly challenged by the current economic circumstances, and they are taking extraordinary measures to make ends meet. The imposition of an itinerant merchant tax in Merion Township is virtually certain to add to the township’s economic difficulties rather than helping to resolve them. The same difficult economic circumstances face both the producers and exhibitors of many of the nation’s trade events. There is precious little stretch left in the operating budgets of either. Because most public events are highly mobile in nature, it is entirely likely that many of the producers who now do business in Upper Merion Township will be forced to re-locate their future events to other venues.”

The SuperPetExpo, which is contracted with Valley Forge in 2011, plans to relocate the event to another Greater Philadelphia facility after the 2011 show takes place.