23¢ GAS TAX INCREASE – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

UPDATES: SUNOCO REWARDS PROGRAM, TOBACCO PURCHASE AGE 21 LEGISLATION, INCREASE IN MINIMUM WAGE FOR 2017.

UPCOMING EVENTS: BREAKFAST MEETING AT THE WEST 22 DINER IN SPRINGFIELD ON WEDS. OCT. 12, DINNER AND A SHOW TO SUPPORT THE NJGCA PAC IN RED BANK ON FRIDAY OCT. 21

Shortly after last week’s Road Warrior was sent out, a compromise agreement was reached between the Govenror and Legislative leaders to increase the gas tax by 23¢ and to pass various other tax decreases to “offset” the burden.  As distasteful as a gas tax is to motorists, it is equally distasteful to us.  A 23¢ increase adds $1,955 to each gas delivery that you receive. The elimination of the estate tax, however, will put tens of thousands of dollars in the hands of your children upon your passing, and allow them to keep the business you worked so hard to build.  In recent weeks NJGCA has been trying to convince legislators that a good compromise would be to lower the 23¢ tax increase to 18¢, but that suggestion fell on deaf ears.  In a private conversation with Senate President Sweeney, he indicated that he supports a phase-in of the gas tax, starting with 15¢ this year, but unfortunately Speaker Prieto didn't agree with that approach. So, here we are… You may have heard that the vote was supposed to take place on Wednesday or Thursday but is now scheduled for today, Friday.  The day’s events in Trenton started at 10:00 AM.  
 
Since people are hearing conflicting news reports and our phones have been ringing off the hook, I made a few phone calls to resolve the confusion surrounding when the tax will go into place.  We received assurances from all parties, including the person actually writing the legislation, that there will be 14 days between the Governor signing the bill and the tax becoming effective. We will keep you informed every step of the way.
 
For anyone still strugging to understand why NJGCA is not vehemently opposing the plan that is currently on the table, I recently came across an op-ed written by Asm. John Wisniewski, Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee and original sponsor of legislation to increase the gas tax by 40¢.  Asm. Wisniewski knew that Republicans in Trenton would never agree to such an enormous increase in the gas tax, so he now wants to wait another year until Governor Christie is out of office, borrow money to fund the TTF for the time being, and then spring a larger gas tax on the citizens, without providing any of the tax relief or tax fairness initiatives that Republicans demanded. Today, we have the protection of a Republican Governor.  Next year, we probably won’t, and Democrats will have complete control.  Passing a gas tax increase NOW is the sensible thing to do, especially since it is impossible that NO money will be made available to fix potholes and repair roads and bridges.  We WILL spend money on infrastructure this year, the question is “where will it come from?”  Would an 18¢ increase have been less painful than 23¢?  Absolutely.  But is 23¢ and the elimination of the estate tax better than 40¢ with no tax cuts?  No question.  To read Assemblyman Wisniewski’s op-ed and better understand my fears and the realities we are facing, click HERE.

Next, I have a few quick updates for you on various topics:

Sunoco Rewards Program: Several weeks ago we discussed Sunoco’s introduction of a rewards program associated with Acme supermarkets.  We have been looking into it and have dealers reporting back to us after meeting with Sunoco.  What we have learned seems positive. Sunoco recognizes the rewards legislation that NJGCA worked hard to pass several years ago, and has acknowledged that they cannot charge any fees or burden the dealers with any costs associated with rewarding customers for their grocery purchases.  We understand that Sunoco dealers in other states all have to pay a $500 initiation fee and 4¢ per gallon when a customer redeems their rewards. We're still learning more and will report to you as we do. Bottom line: Sunoco dealers in New Jersey DO NOT have to pay the $500 or 4¢ a gallon for each gallon purchased.  Just the elimination of the $500 fee alone has allowed dealers to recoup more than the cost of one year of NJGCA membership dues.

Tobacco 21 Purchase Age:  NJGCA’s two-year battle to stop individual municipalities from changing the tobacco purchase age to 21 is something that small businesses across the entire country are facing.  Just last week, the 200^th town in the US (ironically it was a town named Liberty) raised their purchase age to 21. NJGCA has successfully blocked the proposal in 5 towns across the state, but there are more than 15 towns in NJ with a new purchase age of 21.  The fact that this is a nationwide effort just makes me wonder how long it will be before there is a bill introduced in Congress to raise the federal age from 18 to 21.

Minimum Wage: FYI -- we will remind you several more times between now and January 1 but consider this your first notification! This is completely separate from the current efforts to raise the minimum age to $15/hour, but under the amendment that was passed two years ago, minimum wage increases on pace with inflation each year.  The minimum wage for 2017 will increase from $8.38 to $8.44. If you utilize a payroll company, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for notifying the company that rates are changing for your employees.
 
Finally, I want to inform you about two events that NJGCA is hosting in October.

October Diner Tour Meeting – Join us at the West 22 Diner on Weds. October 12^th in Springfield, NJ (right near the old NJGCA office) at 9:30 AM.  We have much to discuss, and this is the opportunity for YOU to ask questions, voice concerns, and tell NJGCA what you think we should be working on and how we can HELP and SERVE you better. Plus, it’s a FREE BREAKFAST.  Those of you in Morris, Essex and Union counties should be receiving emails, and most of you will be receiving phone calls, too.  To make things a little bit easier for my staff and yours, simply reply to the email to let us know whether you can attend or not.  We look forward to seeing you!

NJGCA PAC Event – Dinner and a Show in Red Bank, NJ – You should have also all received emails about the great evening we have planned for Friday, October 21 in Red Bank.  We will start with a great dinner at Buona Sera Restaurant and then head over to the Count Basie Theater for a hilarious show poking fun at the current national election.  The group is called The Capitol Steps and you can click HERE to go to their website and see what they’re all about.  If you like good food and need to laugh at the state of politics today, you won’t want to miss this. Tickets are $300 each or $500 per couple. Your contributions will help NJGCA fight the important battles here in Trenton to make sure that good policy is supported and bad public policy doesn’t stand a chance!  Click HERE for the informational flyer and registration form.  Please make checks payable to NJGCA PAC.

Thanks for reading -- See you all next week!

Sal Risalvato
Executive Director 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

CLASS DETAILS:
Class Date: Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Class Location: NJGCA Headquarters -- 4900 Route 33 West, Wall Twp, NJ 07753
Arrival Time: 7:00am (coffee and donuts will be served)
Lunch Break: 12:00pm (Pizza and soda will be served)
NJMVC Test: 1:00pm

CLASS FEES:
NJGCA Members: $250.00
Non-members: $300.00

Manuals are included and payment is due upon registration. All credit cards are accepted.

License Fee: Bring a $50.00 check made payable to NJMVC to satisfy the State's licensing fee.

PLEASE NOTE: If you live out of state, you must bring 6 points of ID with you, such as a license, passport, healthcare card, utility bill, etc.

10/06/2016:
Gas tax deal author: This funds roads, bridges, provides tax relief | Opinion
Written by Senator Steven Oroho
To fund our roads and bridges, we need a reliable, dedicated source of revenue for the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF).  So I have worked with Senate Budget Chairman Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) for months on a bipartisan plan to accomplish that goal. Gov. Christie, Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) have reached a compromise that includes the first broad-based tax relief for New Jersey residents since 1994. In exchange for a 23¢ per-gallon increase in the gas tax, lawmakers are set to approve $1.4 billion in tax cuts. Sarlo and I support the agreement, which will annually invest a record $2 billion over eight years to improve transportation across New Jersey, with several hundreds or thousands of dollars in net tax relief for all New Jerseyans. This plan achieves tax fairness by implementing a series of tax cuts that far exceed the increase in the gas tax. Without the revenue from that increase, which is partially paid for by the out-of-state drivers who use our roads and bridges, our state's taxpayers will be forced to subsidize roads that are used by vehicles from across the country. In crafting this agreement, I insisted on tax cuts to offset the gas tax increase, and this legislation delivers on that promise in a number of areas.  To read more about the tax cuts and incentives offered in the plan, clickabove.
 
10/04/2016:
Man robbed 3 gas stations in minutes in broad daylight, officials say
Authorities said a man held-up three gas stations in Camden County in brazen daytime robberies Tuesday, all within 37 minutes of each other. The Camden County prosecutor's office is asking the public to help them find the suspect by identifying his vehicle. The man wielded a black handgun and demanded money from attendants at the gas stations — all Citgo stations located on Route 130 in Pennsauken and Haddon Township. He then took off in a dark color Jeep SUV that may have had Pennsylvania plates, according to a press release from the prosecutor's office. He robbed the gas station at Route 130 and Westfield Avenue in Pennsauken at 1:13 p.m., then the station at 6859 S. Route 130 in Pennsauken at 1:47 p.m., followed by the station at 2920 Route 130 in Haddon Township at 1:50 p.m., according to the release. No one was injured in any of the stick-ups. The prosecutor's office described the suspect as a white male, medium build and approximately 5’8 to 5’10 in height.  He has brown hair and a brown beard. No one should approach the vehicle or the suspect if they see him, the release said, but should call 911.
 
09/22/2016:
Sluggish EMV Adoption Rates
New survey results from The Strawhecker Group (TSG) revealed that EMV acceptance among card-accepting merchants is not as high as it was expected to be by this time. According to the survey results, it is estimated that only 44% of U.S. card-accepting merchants have EMV terminals. TSG also found that as we approach the one-year anniversary of the EMV liability shift, 29% of U.S. merchants are actually able to accept chip-based transactions. TSG’s previous survey of payment processors and other payment providers completed in January estimated that over 50% would have an EMV terminal by this time, showing a slower pace of implementation than expected. “EMV merchant adoption has slowed down a bit, at least comparatively speaking to our last EMV survey results in January 2016,” said Jared Drieling, business intelligence manager at TSG.  Approximately 1/3 merchants have activated EMV systems (ability to accept chip on chip transactions) despite the larger base of U.S. merchants with EMV terminals in place. By December 2016, it is estimated that consumers will be able to use their chip-based credit and debit cards at 51% of U.S. merchant locations. The survey also indicated that over 60% of respondents have experienced an increase in the number of chargebacks due to a lack of EMV compliance. “It is clear that non-EMV compliant merchants have felt the impact of the liability shift,” said Drieling.