INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: HOW IT WILL EFFECT OUR INDUSTRIES
INTRODUCING TWO NEW MBPS TO OUR PROGRAM
STATEWIDE DROUGHT WATCH ISSUED AMID HIGH TEMPS
FREE FURNITURE FROM NJGCA HQ
INFLATION REDUCTION ACT
On Sunday, the US Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The bill authorizes $370 billion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below their 2005 levels by 2030 and lowers the deficit by about $300 billion, among other policies that deal with climate, tax, and healthcare. The good news is that there should not be any tax increases for our members, as the bill mostly targets corporations with over $1 billion in annual income. There were discussions about other tax increases that could have affected more prosperous pass-thru businesses, but those were dropped from the final package. Among the items that may affect our membership is a tax credit of up to $7,500 for new electric vehicles through 2032. These vehicles must be assembled in North America, and the battery components (as well as critical minerals found in EV batteries) cannot come from an "entity of concern," such as China. It also only applies to passenger cars under $55,000 and SUVs under $80,000, and only if the purchaser has income under $150,000 individual/$300,000 married filing jointly. The bill also includes a $4,000 tax credit for the purchase of used EVs through 2032, with the income cutoffs for buyers to qualify lower: $75,000 for an individual or $150,000 for married couples filing jointly. Right now, there are little to no cars on the market that meet these criteria to be eligible for tax credits, meaning it may take years before manufacturing processes change enough to meet these demands, and the cost of those changes may make the cars more expensive, reducing the incentive of the tax credit. Additionally, the bill adds $80 billion to the IRS budget and will hire as many as 80,000 more auditors and agents. Unfortunately, this will likely put the magnifying glass on small-business owners and upper-middle-income workers, so make sure your taxes are in order!
NEW Member Benefit Partners
We are very pleased to have welcomed two new MBPs to our program in the last few months. If you have read our Spring and Summer On the Road newsletters, you may have seen advertisements from Jersey Wholesale Tire and Phoenix Rubber. Jersey Wholesale Tire serves the automotive and trucking replacement tire market. Their fully stocked tire warehouses enable them to provide free same-day delivery throughout the entire state. Right now, NJGCA members are eligible to receive a $50.00 credit off of their first purchase of four tires of any brand. All members that are registered to purchase tires on their website: Jerseywholesaletire.com can use a one-time only coupon code for another $50.00 credit off of four tires of any brand by using the coupon code NJGCAWELCOME. Call 732-525-8844 to learn more about Jersey Tire and inquire about their offer.
Phoenix Rubber is a New Jersey based Waste Tire Removal service provider that deliver great service at fair prices in a professional manor. Their unique approach to waste tire removal is driven by technology and with the environment's best interests in mind. They have hundreds of satisfied dealerships, tire stores, and auto repair shops throughout the tri-state area that use their set-it-and-forget-it service. Though they also can provide call-in and one-time cleanup basis, too. You can call or email (973) 659-4010 or service@phoenixrubber.com to get started with their services.
DROUGHT WATCH
On August 9th, the Murphy administration issued a statewide drought watch and urged residents and businesses to conserve water amid high temperatures throughout the state. While no action is needed from you all at this time, you may be asked to take measures into account to conserve water should these temperatures persist and water supply conditions worsen.
FREE FURNITURE
We mentioned in a previous Road Warrior newsletter that we are moving NJGCA headquarters to a new location in Eatontown. As we prepare to move, we have plenty of furniture that will not fit in our new space and are looking for a new home. Take a look at the pictures below and let us know if you are interested in any of our office furniture, free of charge for any member willing to pick it up from our current office in Wall. Everything must go before the end of the month! Contact Greg at greg@njgca.org if you would like anything pictured below.
All classes held at NJGCA HQ -- 4900 Route 33 West, Wall Township, NJ 07753
ASE Training Course - Reach Out Today!
Are you (or an employee) getting ready to take your A6, A8, or L1 in preparation to recertifying your Emission Repair Technician (ERT) credentials through the State's Emission Technician Education Program (ETEP)?
We can help --- but we need to hear from you, first! NJGCA wants to hear from students interested in our ASE-prep training program, so we can gauge demand and schedule our next session series.
As you know, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has always maintained a "dual-track" system to allow technicians to earn their Emission Repair Technician (ERT) credentials through New Jersey's Emission Technician Education Program (ETEP). In doing so, technicians were allowed to certify as ERTs through either an ASE-test track or an ETEP-educational class track. Starting on January 1, 2020, NJDEP amended the ETEP criteria, and the ETEP-educational class track was abolished.
Today, only the ASE-test track remains, and all ERTs must certify or re-certify their credentials though ASE to remain in the Program.
NJGCA has recently offered an ASE-prep class to help you get ready for the A6, A8, and L1. In doing so, students were welcome to participate in a ten-session preparatory class that covered material for all three ASE exams. We also had a handful of students who joined us only for the A8 or L1 sections.
Once completed, students took their ASE exams with a local ASE-approved test proctor (NJGCA can train you to prepare for the ASE exams, but are not permitted to offer the actual exam - students must make these arrangements individually themselves).
Building on that success, we are now seeking student participation in our next training series session. To make arrangements and organize a session, we need to hear from you!
Citing an alarming spike in stolen vehicles carried out by auto theft rings that recruit children and teens to help pull off their heists, a pair of state lawmakers on Thursday announced proposed legislation cracking down on ringleaders. "This is a big business. These are corporations," said state Sen. Richard Codey, D-Essex, referring to the scale and sophistication of gang-led organizations that swipe cars from driveways and parking lots only for the vehicles to end up on a freighter at the Port of Newark or to be used in a drive-by shooting.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provided an update on the review and enforcement of non-tobacco nicotine products. Brian King, the director for the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, wrote in a letter, that the FDA has been "working diligently to process non-tobacco nicotine product premarket applications and prepare them for the review process-day in and day out-since we were granted the authority to do so by Congress." In March, legislation was passed that gave the FDA authority to regulate synthetic nicotine products and required any manufacturers of synthetic nicotine that wanted to market their products to submit a premarket tobacco application (PMTA) by May 14, 2022, and obtain FDA authorization to stay on the market after July 13, 2022.
Shortly after New Jersey enacted a strict plastic bag ban three months ago, employees at the Aberdeen ShopRite noticed something unusual - the store's handheld plastic shopping baskets were vanishing. They soon realized brazen shoppers who didn't bring their own bags and didn't want to buy 33-cent reusable bags were simply leaving the store with their groceries stuffed in the shopping baskets. "They were taking them out and never returned," said an Aberdeen ShopRite employee who declined to give her name. "We went down to no hand baskets at all."
Surging prices will prompt a first-of-its-kind inflation adjustment to New Jersey's minimum wage in January, pushing the state's wage floor a few pennies above the $14-an-hour minimum that had been scheduled to go into effect. But while the inflation adjustment, which was written into the 2019 law that will hike the minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2024, will help some very low-income residents keep up with rising prices, it won't raise their purchasing power past where it was at the start of this year. Under the 2019 law, New Jersey's wage floor was set to increase by $1 per year until it reached $15 per hour on Jan. 1, 2024, but the law provides for larger annual increases if an inflation adjustment would put the wage floor above the next stepped increase. That provision will come into effect for the first time this year and force New Jersey's $13-per-hour minimum wage to rise by at least $1.13.
Credit card swipe fees were up 25.6% in 2021 ($13.5 billion) versus 2020 ($10.7 billion) for convenience retailers, while swipe fees soared 25% last year to a record $137.8 billion for all merchants, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition, of which NACS is an executive committee member. In response, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall wrote an op-ed in the Kansas City Star and Wichita Eagle on how swipe fees are hurting merchants and how there should be increased competition among credit cards and the banks that issue the cards.
If you're thinking of buying an electric car any time soon, you'd better place your order before President Biden signs the Democrats' big climate, tax and health care package into law - which could happen as soon as this weekend. Why it matters: Democrats initially hoped to dramatically increase EV adoption via the bill, called the Inflation Reduction Act, by expanding the existing consumer tax credits for battery-powered vehicles. But strict supply chain requirements added by Sen. Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, could instead slow the nation's switch from gas-powered cars - at least in the short term.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported today that the consumer price index increased 8.5% in July compared with July 2021, down from June's 9.1% CPI reading. The gasoline index declined 7.7% in July, helping to ease the sting of increases in costs for food (+1.1%) and shelter (+0.5%). The food-at-home index rose 1.3%, while the food-away-from-home index rose 0.7%. The energy index fell 4.6% as prices for gasoline and natural gas fell, but the index for electricity rose. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3% in July, a smaller increase than in April, May or June, the Labor Department said. The indexes for shelter, medical care, motor vehicle insurance, household furnishings and operations, new vehicles and recreation were among those that increased over the month.
Each week, the Energy Information Administration publishes a list of average gasoline prices for the previous three weeks. NJGCA will begin including this list with the Weekly Road Warrior. Remember, these prices are reflective of self-serve everywhere except NJ.
Parts For Sale: Incon TS-1000 tank monitor works well just taken out of service. Printer is aprox 2 months old. Also, Incon 8, tank probes. System replaced because on an Exxon upgrade. Call John Twin Towers Exxon (201) 224-8444
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