Canada Updates Its Tire Standards
Wed, 11/27/2013 - 10:34

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Transport Canada has updated its tire standards to harmonize them with counterpart standards in the United States. Canada’s Motor Vehicle Tire Safety Regulations, 1995 (MVTSR, 1995) are being revised and relocated within the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS). The new standards will also allow enforcement of winter tire standards if manufacturers place the peaked mountain with a snowflake symbol on their tires. The new rules take effect on September 1, 2014. 

For more information, please contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

U.S. Forest Service Advisory Committee Issues “Planning Rule” Recommendations
Wed, 11/27/2013 - 10:23
By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

An Advisory Committee convened by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has issued detailed recommendations on how to implement the agency’s 2012 “Planning Rule.” The Rule is the master guidance document for developing land-use plans instituted by individual forests. The 21-member committee, comprised of representatives from a wide variety of land-use stakeholders, including motorized recreation, submitted the recommendations to assist the USFS as it prepares final directives for implementing the Rule.

The Planning Rule has been a contentious subject of debate, lawsuits and court actions in recent years. Providing concise meaning to words and phrases used in the planning directives has proven a challenge. The Advisory Committee sought to find consensus.  

Topics included in the recommendations include adaptive management, National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) integration, outreach for diversity, public involvement and collaboration, social economic and cultural assessment, water, wilderness, climate change, species of conservation concern and reducing litigation. Each of these subjects are vital to the planning goals and objectives in the Rule.

The recommendations are designed to guide the USFS as it finalizes Planning Rule directives in 2014. A summary of the recommendations is available. Read the complete report.

For more information, please contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.
U.S. Forest Service Advisory Committee Issues “Planning Rule” Recommendations
Wed, 11/27/2013 - 10:23
By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

An Advisory Committee convened by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has issued detailed recommendations on how to implement the agency’s 2012 “Planning Rule.” The Rule is the master guidance document for developing land-use plans instituted by individual forests. The 21-member committee, comprised of representatives from a wide variety of land-use stakeholders, including motorized recreation, submitted the recommendations to assist the USFS as it prepares final directives for implementing the Rule.

The Planning Rule has been a contentious subject of debate, lawsuits and court actions in recent years. Providing concise meaning to words and phrases used in the planning directives has proven a challenge. The Advisory Committee sought to find consensus.  

Topics included in the recommendations include adaptive management, National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) integration, outreach for diversity, public involvement and collaboration, social economic and cultural assessment, water, wilderness, climate change, species of conservation concern and reducing litigation. Each of these subjects are vital to the planning goals and objectives in the Rule.

The recommendations are designed to guide the USFS as it finalizes Planning Rule directives in 2014. A summary of the recommendations is available. Read the complete report.

For more information, please contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.
U.S. Senators Offer Proposals to Overhaul Business Provisions in Tax Code
Wed, 11/27/2013 - 10:19
By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

As part of a continuing effort to revise the American tax code, the leadership of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee has released a proposal to address reforms to cost recovery and tax accounting laws. Earlier this year, the committee began a thorough review of the tax code to modernize the system and create simpler rules for small businesses. The latest draft proposes reforms that will more accurately measure business income, lessen burdens on business owners and raise enough revenue from corporations over time to significantly reduce overall corporate tax rates.

Highlights of the draft include reducing the number of major depreciation rates from 40 to 5, requiring businesses to deduct the cost of research and development (R&D) and 50% of advertising expenses over five years, simplifying accounting rules to lessen the costs of tax compliance and enforcement, and repealing the “last in, first out” (LIFO) inventory accounting method. Lawmakers would permanently increase Section 179 expensing to $1 million and expand the definition of qualifying expenses to include all pooled assets, research and experimental expenditures, advertising costs and qualified extraction expenditures. The committee is also considering permanent expansion of the R&D tax credit, set to expire at the end of 2013.

The committee has released a summary of the most recent proposal and the complete discussion draft for public review. For more information, please contact Dan Sadowski at dans@sema.org. 
U.S. Senators Offer Proposals to Overhaul Business Provisions in Tax Code
Wed, 11/27/2013 - 10:19
By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

As part of a continuing effort to revise the American tax code, the leadership of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee has released a proposal to address reforms to cost recovery and tax accounting laws. Earlier this year, the committee began a thorough review of the tax code to modernize the system and create simpler rules for small businesses. The latest draft proposes reforms that will more accurately measure business income, lessen burdens on business owners and raise enough revenue from corporations over time to significantly reduce overall corporate tax rates.

Highlights of the draft include reducing the number of major depreciation rates from 40 to 5, requiring businesses to deduct the cost of research and development (R&D) and 50% of advertising expenses over five years, simplifying accounting rules to lessen the costs of tax compliance and enforcement, and repealing the “last in, first out” (LIFO) inventory accounting method. Lawmakers would permanently increase Section 179 expensing to $1 million and expand the definition of qualifying expenses to include all pooled assets, research and experimental expenditures, advertising costs and qualified extraction expenditures. The committee is also considering permanent expansion of the R&D tax credit, set to expire at the end of 2013.

The committee has released a summary of the most recent proposal and the complete discussion draft for public review. For more information, please contact Dan Sadowski at dans@sema.org. 
U.S. House Committee Approves Bill to Combat Patent Trolls
Wed, 11/27/2013 - 10:16

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The House Judiciary Committee approved a SEMA-supported bill (HR 3309) to address patent troll litigation. The bipartisan vote was 33–5. At issue are frivolous lawsuits asserting that a company or individual is infringing a patent. The entity making the assertion is usually seeking licensing fees but not actually manufacturing a product or supplying services. The allegations are frequently associated with common technologies or business practices rather than a single patent. The lawsuits have exploded in recent years costing small and large businesses billions of dollars. Many companies have settled rather than fighting the cases, allowing the patent trolls to secure funds to pursue other parties.

In a separate action, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched a study to address the problem. Among other actions, the FTC might recommend that specific allegations be included in so-called demand letters that patent holders send to alleged infringers in order to create a public database and improve transparency of the allegations being pursued.

For more information, please contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

U.S. House Committee Approves Bill to Combat Patent Trolls
Wed, 11/27/2013 - 10:16

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The House Judiciary Committee approved a SEMA-supported bill (HR 3309) to address patent troll litigation. The bipartisan vote was 33–5. At issue are frivolous lawsuits asserting that a company or individual is infringing a patent. The entity making the assertion is usually seeking licensing fees but not actually manufacturing a product or supplying services. The allegations are frequently associated with common technologies or business practices rather than a single patent. The lawsuits have exploded in recent years costing small and large businesses billions of dollars. Many companies have settled rather than fighting the cases, allowing the patent trolls to secure funds to pursue other parties.

In a separate action, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched a study to address the problem. Among other actions, the FTC might recommend that specific allegations be included in so-called demand letters that patent holders send to alleged infringers in order to create a public database and improve transparency of the allegations being pursued.

For more information, please contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

Donate to SEMA Cares Bike Drive for Kids
Wed, 11/27/2013 - 09:49
SEMA Cares is teaming up with Childhelp to purchase bikes for the children of Merv Griffin Village. Childhelp is a leading national non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect.
Donate to SEMA Cares Bike Drive for Kids
Wed, 11/27/2013 - 09:49
SEMA Cares is teaming up with Childhelp to purchase bikes for the children of Merv Griffin Village. Childhelp is a leading national non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect.
SEMA Data Co-op Announces Free Data Exports for Members
Wed, 11/27/2013 - 09:34

By Della Domingo

  sdc
SEMA members that sell or distribute products can now obtain an unlimited number of Product Data exports from the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) at no cost.
  

SEMA members that are resellers or distributors can now obtain an unlimited number of product data exports from the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) at absolutely no cost. The savings, available to any SEMA-member receiver in the SDC, totals $1,200 per year and is the newest incentive for members to join the SDC.

Launched in March 2012 with a beta test, the SDC is now a fully operational service that makes it possible for businesses to quickly and easily obtain valuable information about products from manufacturers. Information includes weights and measures, accurate descriptions, current pricing, UPCs, images and other digital assets and more. Details also include rich vehicle application data and power year/make/model look-ups.

"Our mission from the very beginning has been to facilitate broad, open distribution of product data throughout the industry with the goal of growing sales and market size," said Jon Wyly, SDC CEO. "By providing free unlimited exports to SEMA members, we will remove all obstacles for data receivers while providing a great reason to join SEMA and enjoy other benefits of membership. Coming off of a very successful SEMA Show, the SDC gained more than 40 new members, making the SDC data repository brand count among the largest in the industry. Now, with free data exports available, SEMA members can power their business systems and websites more affordably than ever.”

Nathan Ridnouer, SEMA vice president of councils and membership, commented, "What a great new reason for resellers to join SEMA. Not only will we save our members up to $1,200 each year through this program, but we’ll also help them get more out of their industry trade association. SEMA membership offers cost-saving benefits throughout the year, and resources to help businesses be more efficient and productive."

The SEMA Data Co-op is an industry-owned and -operated initiative designed to bring full product data management capabilities to participating suppliers, and to deliver clean, customized data exports to receivers at the lowest possible cost. Features include a secure, industry standards-based centralized data repository, extensive on-boarding tools, expert live training and technical assistance and unlimited standard or fully customized data exports.

To learn more about the program, visit www.SemaDataCoop.org or contact Jim Graven at JimG@SemaDataCoop.org or call 888-958-6698, ext. 4. To learn more about SEMA membership, please email members@sema.org or call 909-610-2030.