training day 2014… see pages 8-9

WMDA NEWS
VOLUME 13/ISSUE 2
FEBRUARY 2014
An Official Publica tion of the Washington DC, Mar yland & Dela ware Ser vice Sta tion & Automotive Repair Associa tion
Training Day
Grand Prize Giveaway
from our generous sponsor
Snap-On
1 FREE “14.2” UPDATE
on any Snap-On Scanner
(up to $1250 value!)
You (or your techs,
service writer, or manager)
must be present to win.
TRAINING DAY 2014… SEE PAGES 8-9
IMMIGRATION ALERT: DOCUMENTING EMPLOYEES… SEE PAGE 11
(SEE SPECIAL ATTACHMENT FORM I-9)
C E L E B R AT I N G OV E R 7 5 Y E A R S
OF SERVICE TO OUR MEMBERS
MA
RYLAND
G
RE
TO
N,
DELAWA
D.C.
★
★
★
WASH
IN
SAVE THE DATE
WMDA ANNUAL
CONVENTION & THE
MEGA
TRADE SHOW
SEPTEMBER 25-27, 2014
OCEAN CITY
MARYLAND
WMDA
1532 Pointer Ridge Place
Suite G
Bowie, MD 20716
301-390-0900
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Editorial: WMDA’s Efforts to Repeal the Death Tax ..............................................................2
Fax: 301-390-3161
Website: www.wmda.net
Amy Gailey
Director of Finance
and Administration
301-390-0900, ext. 113
[email protected]
Marta Gates
Director of Operations
301-390-0900, ext. 115
[email protected]
Back in the Day ..................................................................................................................4
On the Legislative Front: Minimum Wage Update, Federal Highway Proposal,
and the Marketplace Fairness Act’s Impact on Gas Tax Increases ......................................5
And the Race Is On ............................................................................................................7
WMDA/CAR Training Day 2014 – Course Descriptions ........................................................8
WMDA/CAR Training Day 2014 – Registration Form ............................................................9
Len Gentilcore
Membership Sales
Cell: 443-758-6531
[email protected]
Kirk McCauley
Director of
Member Relations
301-390-0900, ext. 114
[email protected]
Editor
Marta Gates
Marketing Director
LaKisha Pindell
Graphic Designer
Frank Lang
Kirk’s Korner: Member Update ..........................................................................................10
General Counsel Corner: Immigration Alert –
The Need to Document Immigrant Employees ..................................................................11
WMDA Endorsed Membership Benefits & Service Providers..............................................12
ADVERTISER’S INDEX
Benjamin F. Brown Insurance Agency..................................................................................4
Maryland Pump & Tank ....................................................................10 & Inside Back Cover
MTD Services, Inc. ..............................................................................................................7
MYCO Companies ..............................................................................................................3
Petroleum Marketing Group ................................................................................................6
WMDA Mega Show Save the Date..........................................................Inside Front Cover
Spigler Petroleum Equipment, LLC ......................................................................................5
Tire Distributors, Inc. ..............................................................................Outside Back Cover
EDITORIAL
by Roy Littlefield
WMDA’S EFFORTS TO REPEAL THE DEATH TAX
On every small business survey I have seen in the past few
years, the number one legislative priority for the small
business community is the repeal of the onerous death tax.
Because an increasing number of service station dealers and
independent repair facility operators are buying their
businesses, this issue is becoming more and more important
for our members.
WMDA is a member of the Family Business Estate Tax
Coalition (FBETC). This coalition is dedicated to the full and
permanent repeal of the estate tax.
At a minimum, we want to preserve the advances we made
in the “Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010.”
Key points of that law included:
• An exemption of $5 million, effective January 1, 2011
for two years;
• Exemption amount is indexed beginning in 2012;
• A top tax rate of 35 percent, effective January 1, 2011
for two years;
• The Continuation of “stepped-up basis” meaning the
value of transferred property is adjusted for inflation at
death; and
• Spousal transfer of any unused exemption amounts for
two years.
In his budget to be released on March 4, President Obama
is expected to favor lowering the exemption back to $1
million and increasing the tax rate to 55%.
In recent years, the FBETC has supported permanently
extending the $5 million estate tax exemption, indexed for
inflation, preserving a lower applicable rate, as well as
permanently providing for spousal transfer and stepped-up
basis. WMDA worked to ensure that these provisions were
included in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.
However, WMDA continues to believe that repeal is the best
solution to protect all family-owned businesses from the
estate tax. We therefore support your amendment to the
Fiscal Year 2014 Senate Budget Resolution adding a deficitneutral fund to provide for the full and permanent repeal of
the estate tax.
WMDA has intensified its efforts to repeal the Federal Death
Tax. We are supporting H.R. 2429, which currently has 184
co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, and S. 1183,
which has 37 co-sponsors in the U.S. Senate.
I would like to recognize and thank Director of Member
Relations and Government Affairs, Kirk McCauley, and
Legislative Intern Roy Littlefield, IV, for their tireless efforts
supporting our campaign.
Recently we met with:
• U.S. Senator John Thune (R-SD), sponsor of S.1183.
Senator Thune expressed his belief that we need to
get more Democrats to sign on to his bill for us to have
any chance of getting it through the Senate.
WMDA supports the efforts of U.S. Senator John Thune (RSD) to permanently repeal the estate tax by offering an
amendment to the Fiscal Year 2014 Senate Budget
Resolution.
• Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX), sponsor of
H.R.2429. Congressman Brady believes that repeal of
the death tax is a “moral issue.” His goal is to get 218
co-sponsors in the House of Representatives (a
majority) and get a vote on the measure as a standalone bill.
WMDA also supports the “Death Tax Repeal Act of 2013”
(S. 1183 / H.R. 2429) as introduced by Senator John Thune
(R-SD), Congressman Kevin Brady (D-TX) and Mike
McIntyre (D-NC).
• Michelle Dimarob, Special Assistant to Ways and
Means Committee Chairman, David Camp (R-MI). She
said that the Chairman is focused on full scale tax
reform, which would include repeal of the death tax.
2
W M DA N E W S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 4
He would also like to make permanent many of the
tax extenders, including WMDA-supported work
opportunity tax credits.
• Joe Lieber, Special Assistant to U.S. Senator, Mitch
McConnell (R-KY), Senate Minority Leader. He asserted
that because of the retirement Max Baucus (D-MT) –
who President Obama has nominated to be
Ambassador to China, he does not believe that a
major reform bill can pass in 2014.
• Jonathan Slemrod, Special Assistant to U.S. Senator,
John Cornyn (R-TX), Senate Minority Whip. He also
said that he did not think Congress would pass a major
tax reform bill in 2014, but that Senator Cornyn was
looking at extenders and was working for repeal of the
death tax.
• Kelley Hudak, Special Assistant to U.S. Congressman,
Steve Scalise (R-LA), Chairman of Republican
Committee. Kelley expressed concern about a tax
reform bill, said that we had to overcome a lot of
challenges to get a vote on death tax repeal, and
expressed concern about the impact of a minimum
wage increase on small businesses.
• Pate Davis, Special Assistant to U.S. Congressman,
Tom Price (R-GA), member of both the Budget
Committee and the Ways and Means Committee. He
reviewed the Ryan/Murray budget, noting that it raises
spending (by $2 billion next year) and taxes but it did
allow for more drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. He did
not see much legislative activity this year.
• Maryland Delegate, Susan Krebs (R-Carroll and
Howard Counties). She has introduced two bills this
year: one to repeal the highest state death tax in the
county and one to lower the tax rate and raise the
threshold. Thirty-six states have now repealed their
estate tax. On February 4, Kirk and Roy testified in
support of this legislation.
BRADY AND THUNE ACT TO KILL THE DEATH TAX
Senator John Thune (R-SD) and Congressman Kevin Brady
(R-TX) introduced S.1183 and H.R.2429 respectively, bills
that call for the permanent repeal of this most despised tax.
Thune and Brady were joined by Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Finance Committee Ranking
Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT), along with the lone Democrat,
Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC) and Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD),
among others.
W M DA N E W S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 4
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Proclaiming that “death should not be a taxable event,” Sen.
Thune noted how toxic the Death Tax has been for family
businesses, with 70% failing to make it to the second
generation, and 90% of family businesses never making it to
the third generation.
BACK IN THE DAY…
WE CANNOT AFFORD TO HURT
FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESSES
WMDA believes the estate tax is hurting family-owned
businesses because the cost of the estate tax comes not only
from paying the tax, but also from estate planning. The
estate tax applies to property transferred at death when the
value of the property exceeds the estate tax exemption.
Much of the value of family-owned business is tied to illiquid
assets such as land, buildings, and equipment. This can force
the new owner to sell the businesses’ assets to pay the tax.
For many family-owned businesses to keep operation after
the death of the owner, they must plan for the estate tax.
Planning costs associated with the estate tax are a drain on
business resources, taking money away from the day to day
operations and business investment. These additional costs
make it more difficult for the business owner to expand and
create new jobs. Protecting family business from the estate
tax is important in order to keep these businesses operating
◆
for future generations.
4
In 1955 this station owner decided to explain the cost of
gas at his station and who got a piece of the pie. Wonder
what would happen if we did that today?
W M DA N E W S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 4
O N T H E L E G I S L AT I V E F R O N T
by Roy Littlefield, IV
WMDA Legislative Intern
MINIMUM WAGE UPDATE, FEDERAL HIGHWAY PROPOSAL, AND THE
MARKETPLACE FAIRNESS ACT’S IMPACT ON GAS TAX INCREASES
Governor Martin O’Malley continues to make a minimum
wage increase his top legislative priority. At a rally in
Annapolis a few weeks ago, O’Malley backed a proposal to
increase the state’s minimum wage to $10.10 per hour by
2016. The governor also supports indexing the minimum
wage to keep up with inflation. The O’Malley administration
has now come out in support of Senate Bill 331, which would
raise the state minimum wage to $8.20 per hour beginning
July 1, 2014, then $9.15 beginning July 1, 2015, and finally
raise it to $10.10 beginning July 1, 2016. The minimum wage
would also increase in future years based on the “consumer
price index.”
differences in various parts of the state. Miller said lawmakers
from rural parts of Maryland won’t be able to support an
increase that high. “It’s going to be a very tough sell, the bill
as proposed right now,” Miller told reporters after the Senate
session. Despite the challenges, Miller expressed confidence
a minimum wage increase will be approved, but it will likely
need to be different in various parts of the state.
In wake of Montgomery and Prince Georges counties
passing minimum wage hikes, some legislators are now
requesting other counties be given the authority to pass
increases. Senator Colburn (R), District 37, recently
WMDA will work with legislators to come up with the best
solution for small business and our customers we feel
minimum wage should be set at the federal level. Maryland
is not an island and workers will flood in from VA, PA, WV and
DE. to take these jobs and where does that leave the
uneducated worker with no transportation? WMDA remains
committed to this legislative battle on the state level after
testifying in both Prince Georges and Montgomery Counties
in opposition to the minimum wage hike. We ask for your
support and involvement during the session on this issue.
According to the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute,
approximately 472,000 Marylanders would benefit from an
increase of the minimum wage, putting $466 million more in
their pockets in the next two years.
Delegate Herb McMillan, R-Annapolis, pointed to different
studies showing hikes to minimum wage hurt employment
for younger and less-skilled workers. The nonpartisan
Employment Policies Institute, a nonprofit organization,
estimates Maryland could lose anywhere from 6,082 to
18,247 jobs if the minimum wage is hiked to $10.10 per hour.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, D-Calvert, told
senators it will be hard to find a solution to address economic
W M DA N E W S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 4
5
introduced legislation (SB 166) that would authorize the remaining
Maryland counties to raise the minimum wage as they wish within
their jurisdictions.
The reality of the situation is, something’s going to happen. We’re
going to get an increased minimum wage, but trying to find that
number is going to be very difficult in light of what’s already
happened in Prince Georges and Montgomery County. Given the
current landscape in Annapolis, it will be interesting to see what bill
comes to the forefront.
On January 9, I had lunch with Congressman Earl Blumenauer (DOR), who had introduced legislation to increase the Federal Motor
Fuel Tax by 15 cents a gallon. While numerous other transportation
groups – like ATA and AAA – have come out in support of the
legislation, WMDA has come out in opposition. One of our great
concerns is that a 15 cent motor fuel tax increase will not adequately
fund the Highway Trust Fund. That tax increase would have to be
part of a package that could include other revenue raisers being
considered including: reinstating the FET on passenger tires;
reinstating the FET on retread rubber; increasing the FET on truck
tires by 10%; and a national weight tax on truck tires.
Rather than supporting any kind of tax increases, WMDA is
supporting proposals that exhibit creatively in future highway
funding. We were an early supporter of legislation introduced by
Congressman John Delany (D-MD) “The Partnership to Build
America Act” (H.R. 2084). The Partnership to Build America Act
finances $750 billion in infrastructure investment using no
appropriated funds and has 50 co-sponsors (25 Republicans and 25
Democrats). If you would like more information on Congressman
Delany’s proposal, send the request to: [email protected]
WMDA is also involved with federal legislation concerning the
Marketplace Fairness Act. The Fairness Act would allow states to tax
out-of-state business’ remote sales. Last year, Maryland passed the
Transportation Infrastructure Investment Act of 2013, which caused
the increase of gas taxes throughout the state. The Act also includes
set future gas tax increases that are contingent on whether Congress
passes the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 (the “Fairness Act”) or
a similar act. The passage of H.B. 1515 meant that Maryland joined
the increasing number of states that are demonstrating their
intentions to readily collect taxes on remote sales upon the potential
enactment of the Fairness Act.
The Fairness Act was recently passed in the U.S. Senate and is
currently undergoing fierce scrutiny in a Republican-controlled
House of Representatives. Given this situation, we ask for your
support in reaching out to your Senators and Congressman to urge
the passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act to avoid future gas tax
increases in Maryland.
◆
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W M DA N E W S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 4
AND THE RACE IS ON…
This dashing young racer stands in front of his first car at
the old Beltsville Speedway. He is now on the WMDA
Board of Directors.
Do you know who this is?
None other than long time Board of Director member Tom
Watts of Greenbelt Road Shell.
And this gentleman in the #70 was the Sportsman series
champion in 1967 at Beltsville Speedway. He raced in the
NASCAR Grand National Series (now the Nationwide
Series). His son Roy grew up with racing in his blood and
went on to become a crew chief in NASCAR Sprint Cup for
the likes of Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman and is currently
an engineer with Penske.
Do you know who this is?
It’s WMDA’s own Kirk McCauley, Director of Government
Affairs and Member Relations.
W M DA N E W S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 4
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8
W M DA N E W S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 4
W M DA N E W S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 4
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KIRK’S KORNER
by Kirk McCauley
Director of Member Relations
MEMBER UPDATE
RIGHT TO REPAIR
ATMs and gas pump card readers. The U.S. Secret Service
In January the auto manufacturers and independent repair
has identified a card skimmer that fits over the outside of the
facilities reached a historical agreement based on the new
pad and is very difficult to detect. Chevron has warned its
Massachusetts Right to Repair (R2R) law. That law states that
dealers out west and so has the California Independent Oil
the automakers would share repair information and access to
Marketers Association.
specialty tools with independent repair facilities for a
reasonable price.
I have not heard anything about this in our area, but what
happens in California does not stay in California. Do your
In this agreement, there will be a menu of options available.
homework, and check your pumps every shift if possible. Tell
Some aspects of the agreement will not fully take effect until
your employees that if they see anyone fooling with key pads
the 2018 model year.
to get all of the info they can, such as tag numbers and
descriptions of the vehicle and persons involved.
The Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) was
instrumental in the agreement. Service Station Dealers of
The U.S. Secret Service’s local office should be notified along
America and Allied Trades and WMDA/CAR supported the
with the proper local authorities. If you remove any key pads
R2R campaign.
from your pump, do so with gloves and put them in a plastic
bag for the U.S. Secret Service to pick up.
Once the Massachusetts law passed, it set the bar for auto
manufacturers to settle quickly to avoid having to comply
TRAINING DAY
with different sets of rules in each state where Right to Repair
I hope to see you all at our annual training Day for Techs and
(R2R) legislation would become active.
Execs on Saturday, March 1st. Special thanks to Snap-On for
sponsoring the Grand Prize Giveaway at Training Day – The
CARD SKIMMING
grand prize will be: 1 FREE “14.2” Update on any Snap-on
There is a new type of credit card skimmer being attached to
Scanner (up to a $1250 value)! You (or your techs, service
writer, or manager) must be present to win! Take a look at
what we have to offer, get your techs ready to take the
Maryland State Inspector exam, come and join other owners
and managers at the Ask The Owners roundtable. Don’t miss
out, this is only offered once a year!
LEGISLATIVE NEWS
I will have a legislative update next month. It has been very
busy in Annapolis so far this session, and I hope to see
WMDA and CAR members in Annapolis when we need you.
You are the ones that tell your story best.
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W M DA N E W S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 4
◆
GENERAL COUNSEL CORNER
by Peter H. Gunst, Esquire
SSDA Legal Counsel
IMMIGRATION ALERT –
THE NEED TO DOCUMENT IMMIGRANT EMPLOYEES
As if service station dealers didn’t have enough to worry
about, they must now be ncreasingly concerned about
maintaining proper documentation to prove that they are
not employing illegal workers. In May of this year, employers
were required to use an updated version of the federal I-9
form to prove the eligibility of new workers.
reduced to $173,250 by the administrative judge.
The forms appear simple, with newly hired employees
required to complete and sign Section 1 of Form I-9 by their
first day of employment, and the employer then completing
Section 2, which requires that it attest to examining
documents provided by the employee to establish his or her
legal employment status and to certify the employee’s first
day of employment, among other things.
Second, no one at KDS had any I-9 compliance training until
two years prior to the audit, so that many of its older forms
were deficient.
But mistakes can be costly. As one commentator has warned:
Mistakes or missing information, whether intentional or not,
and which might have nothing to do with a worker being in
the country illegally, can lead to stiff penalties. Employers
can be fined from $110 to $1,100 per violation for failure to
comply with the form’s requirements, according to U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services. Penalties can even be
steeper, up to $6,500 per violation, for participating in
document fraud, or up to $16,000 for knowingly hiring an
unauthorized worker.
Consider the fate of small Washington state contractor
Ketchikan Drywall Services, Inc. (“KDS”). This company had
only four permanent employees but also hired numerous
temporary employees. Although its problems arose from
failure to maintain proper records prior to the release date of
the newly amended I-9, the lessons drawn from its
predicament are equally applicable now.
When Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) served
an administrative subpoena on KDS, it soon became
apparent that KDS’s practices in obtaining and maintaining I9 forms were far from ideal. Failures to comply with ICE
regulations resulted in an initial fine of $286,624, which was
How did this come about?
First, ICE, as was its right, examined Form I-9s going back
three years. This expanded the number of violations to 271.
Third, although KDS did collect substantial documentation
authenticating its employees’ work status, it failed to fully
complete many I-9 forms, and also failed to produce those
forms in response to the ICE audit in a timely manner.
Fourth, KDS failed to adequately monitor its employees’
completion of Section 1 of the forms, and also failed to ensure
that all Section 1s were completed by the employee in a
timely manner.
KDS attempted to seek relief from the penalty imposed upon
it by filing a petition for review in the United States Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Ketchikan Drywall Services,
Inc. v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 725 F.3d 1103
(9th Cir. 2013). But the three-judge court unanimously
rejected its appeal.
In sum, the Ninth Circuit held that the administrative judge
properly accepted ICE’s penalty guidelines to calculate fines,
despite the technical nature of the majority of KDS’s failures
to obtain and maintain completed forms. In so doing, it held
KDS strictly responsible for its employees’ errors in filling out
Section 1, and deferred to the administrative judge’s broad
discretion in determining proper penalties.
The lesson is clear. Failure to comply with Form I-9 requirements
can be extremely costly to a small businessperson. Form I-9 is
◆
attached with this newsletter.
W M DA N E W S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 4
11
WMDA/CAR ENDORSED
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS &
SERVICES PROVIDERS
If your business needs any of the following products or services,
be sure to check out these companies endorsed by WMDA/CAR.
Intelicom, Inc.
Larry Shapero
1-877-666-6269
Email: [email protected]
AUTO PARTS SUPPLIER
ELECTRICITY PROGRAM
MOBILE DIAGNOSTIC SERVICE
Replace
My Stuff, LLC
MAAGIC
Tom Gussen – Metromedia Power
1-800-828-9427, ext. 0031
Fax: 732-440-0031
Email: [email protected]
Replace My Stuff, LLC
Alicia Fairall
443-790-6957
Email: [email protected]
TRASH/DUMPSTER BROKER
Auto Parts Superstores
Parts Authority
Stan Bailey
202-829-6315
Email: [email protected]
INSURANCE –
LIABILITY, UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK,
WORKERS’ COMP, HEALTH INSURANCE
CASTROL BUYING PROGRAM –
BULK OIL AND PREMIUMS
PPC Lubricants
Gene Nace
1-717-215-7253
Email: [email protected]
CREDIT CARD PROCESSING
Coastal Trash Service
Ian Djuric
410-490-3769
Email: [email protected]
UNIFORMS, SERVICES, SOLUTIONS
Benjamin F. Brown Insurance Agency/
UTICA/Meadowbrook
Ben Brown or Berry Brown
1-800-861-3434
Email: [email protected]
Unifirst Corporation
Jeff Thompson
1-888-223-3056
Email: [email protected]
LEGAL SERVICES
USED OIL, ANTIFREEZE &
CONTAMINATED GAS DISPOSAL
Lerch, Early & Brewer, Chartered
Harry Storm
301-907-2817
RecOil, Inc.
Bernard Reiley
1-800-346-9551
Email: [email protected]
4321 0000 0000 0000
FMS INC
First Merchant Services
Dan Cohen
1-866-511-4367, ext. 105
Email: [email protected]
LEGISLATIVE & REGULATORY INFORMATION
CREDIT UNION
LET YOUR MEMBERSHIP
WORK FOR YOU!
NASA Federal Credit Union
1-888-627-2328
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.nasafcu.com
12
WMDA
Kirk McCauley
1-800-492-0329, ext. 114
Email: [email protected]
W M DA N E W S | F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 4
Simply participate in all of the programs
for which you are eligible and you
will save or make enough to pay for
your membership in WMDA/CAR!
CLIP AND POST THIS PAGE ON YOUR BULLETIN BOARD FOR EASY ACCESS TO SAVINGS.
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