YOUR WEEKLY MEMBER NEWS LETTER:
is a service provided only to members of the Nebraska Petroleum Markers & Convenience Store Association (NPCA). If you have any key personnel that would like to be added at no additional charge, please feel free to reply to
tkeigher@npcainc.com, katie@npcainc.com or call (402)-474-6691.
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Thank You to NPCA's Partners
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On Tuesday, EPA issued a Notice of Data Availability (NODA) to provide public notice and an opportunity to comment on potential reductions in the 2018 biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel volumes, and/or the 2019 biomass-based diesel volume under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. EPA is considering cutting the total renewable fuel requirement by 2.5%, from 19.24 billion gallons under the proposed 2018 standard to 18.77 billion gallons for 2019. The EPA is also considering reducing the 2018 advanced biofuel target from 4.24 billion gallons to 3.77 billion gallons. The proposed reductions are in addition to the agency's proposal in July that makes cuts to advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel volumes.
The EPA notice follows the U.S. Department of Commerce's decision to impose duties on biodiesel from Indonesia and Argentina. In the notice, EPA states that the expiration of the biodiesel tax credit has already resulted in higher costs to blend the fuels to meet the RFS requirements and higher costs for consumers, while the duties will likely lead to further increased costs and a reduction of biodiesel supply in the U.S. The comment period will begin when the notice is published in the Federal Register and will last for 15 days.
In July, PMAA submitted comments to EPA regarding its proposed rulemaking on the RFS. The main concern PMAA has with the proposed standard is its 15-billion-gallon ethanol volumetric blending mandate for 2018. PMAA urged EPA to fix the RFS by immediately reducing the maximum amount of ethanol blended into gasoline at 9.7 percent of anticipated demand for 2018 and future years. PMAA believes that reducing the ethanol mandate to this level is the most effective way to lower the value of RINS and, in turn, allow all petroleum marketers to compete on a level playing field and not break the law by storing and dispensing a product that is not compatible with their storage tank systems.
Click here to read PMAA's comments.
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Yesterday President Trump issued a 10-day waiver to the Jones Act for Puerto Rico in order to speed recovery following Hurricane Maria, as he did for Texas and Florida following the devastation caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson in 1920, the Jones Act regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters and between U.S. ports. This nearly 100-year-old law requires that all goods transported between U.S. ports be carried in U.S. owned ships, built and registered in the U.S., and manned by U.S. citizens. The Jones Act was temporarily waived from September 1 to September 19, 2005 following Hurricane Katrina's landfall which allowed foreign vessels to carry crude oil between U.S. ports. In the summer of 2011, President Barack Obama waived the Jones Act to accelerate crude oil and refined product shipments to the U.S. due to the Libyan uprising causing the loss of over two million barrels of crude oil supply.
Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Mike Lee (R-UT) also introduced legislation Thursday which would permanently exempt Puerto Rico from the Jones Act. PMAA supports efforts to reform the Jones Act which will bring cheaper motor fuels and heating oil prices to consumers.
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White House and GOP Leadership Release Comprehensive Tax Reform Plan
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On Wednesday, Republican leaders released their tax reform plan which would include the biggest cuts and changes in 30 years. The plan would reduce the number of total individual rates from seven to three (12 percent, 25 percent and 35 percent) and the top rate would drop from 39.6 percent to 35 percent. The corporate rate would be reduced from 35 to 20 percent while pass-through businesses' tax rate would be reduced to 25 percent. The majority of small businesses are organized as pass-throughs meaning that profits are passed on to the owner and reported on his/her individual tax return. PMAA has argued for a competitive tax rate for pass-throughs. The plan eliminates the deduction for state and local taxes, but nearly doubles the standard deduction. The plan eliminates most itemized deductions, but retains the home mortgage interest and charitable contributions deductions. Furthermore, the plan eliminates the estate tax, also known as the death tax. Meanwhile, the plan would allow businesses to "immediately write off the cost of new investments in depreciable assets other than structures made after September 27, 2017, for at least five years." The plan does not mention details regarding step-up in basis or last in, first out (LIFO). Under current law, family members who inherit a business take the business at its value as of the date of the original owner's death. However, if the step-up in basis were eliminated, the family members would be required to pay capital gains taxes on the original owners' gains in the business. Due to the detrimental effects it would have on businesses, PMAA opposes any attempt to repeal the step-up in basis. PMAA will continue to monitor the latest.
In July, PMAA sent a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) regarding his request for stakeholder comments on overhauling the tax code. Specifically, PMAA raised its concerns with the House GOP tax reform "blue print" which called for a border adjustment tax ("BAT"). Fortunately, the BAT plan was dropped from the future tax plan the following month. Specifically, the BAT would have ended deductibility for any costs or expenses associated with imported goods. For example, refiners who rely heavily on imported crude oil, or wholesalers who import product, could be faced with higher taxes requiring prices to be raised on those products, which would then lead to an overall increase in motor and heating fuel prices. However, the plan would allow companies to exclude revenues they received on exports, meaning only revenue derived from inside the U.S. would be subject to income tax. Given the overwhelming opposition to BAT from thousands of businesses nationwide, Congress never had the votes to approve a BAT.
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Durbin Introduces Bill to Equalize Federal Excise Tax on All Tobacco Products
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Last week, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), with the support of Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Al Franken (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA) and Jack Reed (D-RI), introduced S. 1837, known as the "Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2017." The bill aims to achieve tax parity across all tobacco products by increasing the federal excise tax on non-cigarette categories to the level of cigarettes. The bill would set the federal excise tax rate for all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and pipe tobacco to $50.33 per thousand dollars, the current rate as cigarettes.
Currently, cigars are taxed at a rate of 52.75% of the wholesale price, though it is capped at 40.26 cents per cigar. Under Durbin's legislation, large cigars would be taxed based on their weight by the pound and would be taxed at a minimum of 5.033 cents per cigar. The bill would also index all tax rates for inflation.
Sen. Durbin introduced a similar bill in 2015, though it failed to advance out of the Senate Committee on Finance. Due to the Republican majority in Congress, the legislation is unlikely to pass.
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No Further Menu Labeling Delays
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On May 2 of this year the FDA announced that enforcement of the menu labeling rule that was expected to begin on May 5, 2017 would be delayed until May 7, 2018. FDA did so in order to "consider how we might further reduce the regulatory burden or increase flexibility while continuing to achieve our regulatory objectives, in keeping with the Administration's policies." Subsequently the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and the National Consumers League (NCL) sued the FDA in June for delaying the enforcement.
Yesterday U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan approved an agreement made by the law firm which represents CSPI and NCL, and by the Department of Justice which stops the lawsuit as long as there is no change to the August 25 commitment made by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb that there will be no further delay and no changes to the menu labeling requirements.
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In July, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a request for information on last year's Obama Administration's overtime rule, meaning it was seeking public comments for the next 60 days. In the request for information, DOL acknowledged complaints from business groups that the Obama Administration's salary threshold was too high.
The request solicited opinion on whether DOL should adjust the 2004 salary threshold of $23,660 to inflation; whether there should be "multiple standard salary levels" based on the size of the employer, census region or other factors; whether there should be "different standard salary levels for the executive, administrative and professional exemptions"; whether the 2016 rule supplanted the duties test; whether the salary threshold should update automatically; and whether employers should rely only on a duties test "without regard to the amount of salary paid by the employer."
On Monday, the Small Business Legislative Council, of which PMAA is a member, submitted comments to DOL in response to its request for information regarding the overtime exemptions to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. In its comments, the SBLC discussed its thoughts on the DOL's 2016 final overtime rules and provided feedback to the DOL on what it should do with the overtime rules going forward. Click here to view the comments.
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Purchase Tickets for a Chance to Own a Tom Brady New England Patriots Collage
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Purchase your PMAA Small Business Committee (SBC) PAC raffle tickets now for an opportunity to win your own Tom Brady New England Patriots Collage.
Tom Brady is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He is one of only two players to win five Super Bowls and the only player to win them all playing for one team. Each piece comes designed with photographs, season schedule, a team logo, and a piece of game-used football, all framed in black wood. The product is officially licensed by the National Football League. This collectible is a limited edition of 1,000.
The PMAA SBC PAC will hold the raffle during the Fall Meeting in Chicago on October 16-17 and the raffle winner will be identified during the Board Meeting on October 17. The winner does not have to be present to win. If you are not attending the conference, you will be notified the week following the October drawing if you are the fortunate owner of the Tom Brady New England Patriots Collage.
The proceeds of the raffle will benefit the PMAA SBC PAC. The money distributed to the PAC is used to benefit federal legislators who support the industry and have a solid record on key industry legislative issues. Tickets are $25 each or five for $100. Advanced tickets are available until October 13 by contacting Sabrina Pitcher at 703-351-8000. Ticket sales will continue at PMAA's Fall Meeting in Chicago until the drawing on October 17. Tickets must be paid for with personal funds by MasterCard, VISA, American Express, cash or check (checks should be made out to the PMAA Small Business Committee).
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Get your PMAA Marketer Defense Fund (MDF) raffle tickets now for a chance to win an Amazon Echo and Echo Dot!
The PMAA Marketer Defense Fund (MDF) will hold a raffle during the Fall Meeting in Chicago October 16-17 conference and the raffle winner will be identified during the conference on October 17. The winner does not have to be present to win. If you are not attending the conference, you will be notified the week following the October drawing if you are the fortunate owner of the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot.
The proceeds of the raffle will benefit the PMAA MDF. PMAA established the Marketer Defense Fund, sometimes referred as the 535 Fund or MDF, as a method to obtain corporate donations for priority projects. The MDF Program is different from PMAA's Small Business Committee PAC and is designed to supplement PMAA's lobbying budget to cover priority projects, i.e., some aspects of a political event or for public relations campaigns related to a legislative initiative. For example, part of the monies collected for the MDF have been used for research projects to defeat regulatory initiatives such as efforts to mandate a 10 micron diesel filter, wetlines retrofit, as well as automatic temperature compensation (ATC) at retail. The MDF has saved marketers approximately $1.3 billion which equals $162,500 per marketer. Additionally, the MDF has been used on:
- A diesel fuel corrosion study
- Hiring outside consultants to represent PMAA at several regulatory agencies
- Paying for PMAA marketer travel for important underground storage tank (UST) meetings
- Splash blending litigation
- Interchange fee coalition activities
- Supporting local charity events.
A marketer can make corporate contributions by check or credit card to this program and there is no limit on the amount of contribution. All the money is used to support PMAA lobbying goals. You can donate online by clicking here.
Tickets are $25 each or five for $100. Advanced tickets are available until October 13 by contacting Susan Isard or 703-351-8000. Ticket sales will continue at PMAA's Fall Meeting in Chicago until the drawing on October 17. Tickets can be purchased with personal or corporate funds by MasterCard, VISA, American Express, cash or check (checks should be made out to the PMAA Marketer Defense Fund).
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(compliments the Nebraska Trucking Association)
Reminder: Legislative Bill 263 amended the Intrastate Hours of Service in State Statute 75-363. Signed by the Governor and went into effect April 27, 2017
LB 263 changed the provision relating to Part 395 (Intrastate Hours of Service) amending the regulation requiring drivers to take ten consecutive hours off duty instead of the previous eight consecutive hours off duty.
LB 263 Part 395 - HOURS OF SERVICE OF DRIVERS shall apply to motor carriers and drivers who engage in intrastate commerce as defined in section 75-362, except that no motor carrier who engages in intrastate commerce shall permit or require any driver used by it to drive nor shall any driver drive: (i) More than twelve hours following ten eight consecutive hours off duty; or (ii) For any period after having been on duty sixteen hours following ten eight consecutive hours off duty.
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Nebraska Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association | (402) 474-6691 |
www.npcainc.com |
1320 Lincoln Mall, Suite 100B
Lincoln, NE 68508
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