2023 Compliance Calendar Available NJGCA MBP Highlight: Card Connect Updates: Anchor Property Tax Relief, Gun Regulations, and Litter Control Fee New Jersey Liquor License Reform NJGCA Healthcare Plan: It’s Not Too Late to Enroll! Compliance Calendar The 2023 New Jersey Fuel Dispensing Facilities Compliance Calendar is now available online and on our website slider. Years ago, the DEP used to drop off the gas station compliance calendar and we would distribute to our membership. As a cost-saving measure, they don't do this anymore and they have made it so that you can print it yourself. As a warning, if DEP comes to your station and they discover you are not recording information you may encounter costly penalties. If you find this too cumbersome, some of the items that need to be recorded you can have done by one of our MBPs for a monthly fee, though others that require daily checks you will still be on the hook for. Check the MBP brochure and give one of them a call. Card Connect We wanted to highlight our Member Benefit Partner Card Connect as an example of the benefits of membership to a trade association. Our partnership with Card Connect allows members to avoid additional fees that most customers are required to pay: Card Connect has a commitment to all NJGCA members to provide the lowest possible rates and fees to process credit and debit cards for the members. Card Connect implemented a $269.00 Annual Security Bundle Fee to all merchant accounts in the USA this January 2023. NJGCA Members are excluded from this service charge as this program is a direct relationship with the NJGCA, and Card Connect, the processor. NJGCA Members will be credited back this fee by February 2023. This fee Does Not affect the low rates the members currently have. If any members have any questions or concerns, I can be reached at (609) 957-1784. Sincere Regards, Louis Puglisi Quick Updates ANCHOR Tax Relief: While it doesn’t apply to businesses, we want to make sure our members are aware that they could be leaving free money on the table! Have you taken advantage of the state’s new Anchor Property Tax Relief program? According to Department of Treasury, a little over one million New Jersey residents out of a pool of roughly two million have so far filed applications for relief belief benefits, meaning you could be giving up a free rebate meant to cover property taxes, anywhere from $450 to $1500 (if household income is under $250,000). The filing deadline is February 28, 2023, and you can find the required information, as well as the link to the application HERE. Firearm Carry Regulations: Last week, we mentioned that Governor Murphy signed into law new firearm regulations, including a provision that banned permit holders from carrying their concealed weapon into any business unless “the owner has provided express consent or has posted a sign indicating that it is permissible to carry on the premises a concealed handgun with a valid and lawfully issued permit.” This Monday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the part of the law that prohibits guns from being carried into businesses. At the moment, you do not need to worry about this and no action is needed from you. A longer court case will now play out that will decide the fate of the new law. Litter Control Fee: Since we reported on the Litter Control fee a few weeks ago we have received some calls from members that they had gotten a letter from the Division of Taxation saying they are subject to the Litter Control Fee, and they owed money and potentially needed to pay seven years of back fees. As a reminder, this fee was created back in 2002 and applies to retailers who sell certain products (mainly cigarettes and food). However, it only applies if the retailer sells more than $500,000 in gross sales of these products each year. We wanted to send along further clarification that even if you sell cigarettes or food products, you are required to file the form annually even if you do not owe any tax. The filing for 2022 is due before March 15th, 2023, you can find the form here Litter Control Fee form, make sure either you or your accountant takes care of it. This has generally not been previously enforced, but now the Department of Taxation is cracking down. You can view the list of the litter generating products that are subject to the tax, as well as link to file online HERE. Liquor License Reform This week, Governor Murphy presented his annual State of the State address to the people of New Jersey. While he didn’t mention much that concerns our members, one thing that caught our attention was his plans to reform the state’s antiquated liquor license laws. The governor presented nothing that will allow convenience stores to be able to acquire any form of liquor licenses. Unfortunately, it appears he is only concerned about reforms for restaurants and not on the retail end. NJGCA has long supported making a change to the law that would allow convenience stores to sell beer and wine as they do in most of the rest of the country. We are working with legislators to hopefully have that included in any changes to the law. Please email Eric at eric@njgca.org if you are interested in this topic and would like to be part of our efforts to change the law. Healthcare An important reminder to our members that just because we’ve rolled into a new calendar year, it doesn’t mean that it’s too late to look into or switch your health insurance. With healthcare expenses increasing, it certainly doesn’t hurt to make sure you are getting the most coverage you need for the least amount of money, and you can change your plan anytime throughout the year. If you act now, your new plan can take effect for February 1, 2023. We already know of several businesses that are saving big with this plan: Auto repair – single employee – saved over $11,500 a year Gas station – single employee & employee with spouse – saved over $6,000 a year Auto repair – employee with family – saved over $10,000 a year Gas & Repair – employee with family – saved almost $4,000 a year Gas & Repair – 2 single employees & employee with spouse – saved over $18,000 a year Gas station – single employee & employee with family – saved almost $7,000 a year Auto Repair – single employee – saved over $17,000 a year That is a lot of money saved! Learn more about the program and see how much you can be saving HERE. Be Well- Your Association Staff |
