State Representative Joe Faust sponsored the bill. I feel like I may have to pull a Biff Tannen on this guy. “Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Huh? Think, Faust. Think!” This bill has flaws at many levels. Right off the bat, it is an attack on the level playing field principle that ELFA so tirelessly promotes. Furthermore, it not only unfairly targets a specific industry (leasing!), it also has the potential to do harm to several other sectors of the local economy. For certain leasing customers, a residual-based lease payment is the only way they can afford to acquire equipment. For others, the matching of use, costs, and revenues provided by lease financing is a perfect fit with their business model. The costs of equipment acquisition just went up for these customers, but not for those who can pay cash or have larger lending facilities.
