Taking The Hill
IRS Reform
President Clinton has signed legislation to reform the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and give taxpayers new rights. The legislation shifts the burden of proof from the taxpayer to the IRS, creates an independent board to oversee the agency and provides new taxpayer protections.
The new legislation was enacted in part because the IRS has been criticized for its enforcement actions; in a series of congressional hearings this spring, taxpayers testified about raids and other heavy-handed actions taken against individual taxpayers and owners of small businesses.
The new nine-member board will consist of the secretary of the Treasury, the IRS commissioner, an IRS employee and six members from the private sector. The board will be responsible for IRS oversight, particularly in law enforcement and collection activities.
The new taxpayer protections include shifting the burden of proof to the IRS in court proceedings, providing penalty relief, prohibiting the IRS from seizing residences to satisfy unpaid liabilities of less than $5,000, and prohibiting the IRS from seizing a taxpayer's home without a court order.
House Passes Cross-Border Pollution Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation, H.R. 8, that would require vehicles passing daily into the United States from Mexico to meet state emission control standards. The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration.
California law currently requires vehicles registered outside of the United States that commute to the United States on a daily basis to meet California emission standards. However, these state laws cannot be enforced by federal border officials.
The Border Smog Reduction Act would give federal officials the authority to prohibit these commuter vehicles from entering the United States. The legislation would not impact tourists or visitors from Mexico, but would specifically target those vehicles that enter the United States on a regular basis for education or job purposes.
The bill was written in response to a study completed by the San Diego Air Pollution Control District that found 7,000 vehicles registered in Mexico and driven into the United States on a daily basis producing up to 14 percent of the region's total air pollution.
If the legislation is enacted, there will be a six-month delay period before vehicles are denied entry to the United States. The legislation initially applies only in California, but other states have the option to participate in the program.
Kyoto Protocol
The U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee is holding a series of hearings on the Kyoto Protocol that was completed Dec. 11, 1997. The protocol would commit the United States to a target of reducing "greenhouse gases," mainly carbon dioxide, by 7 percent below 1990 levels.
Chairman Jim Talent, R-Mo., is holding the hearings to understand the impact that the protocol will have on small businesses in the United States.
Previous hearings have explored the science behind the agreement, the economic impact of the agreement and the impact on small business.
Salvage Titling Legislation on Hold
Senators Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., have placed holds on legislation that would establish a uniform definition for salvage vehicles all across the country. The automotive repair industry, the insurance industry, automobile dealers, consumer groups and attorneys general are debating the definition of "salvage vehicle."
ASA generally supports the concept of a national definition for salvage vehicles because the current inconsistencies in state definitions provide opportunities for title washing, inappropriate title branding and frustration for consumers who purchase previously damaged vehicles.
ASA has urged the Senate to define a salvage vehicle as one that is "up to 5 years old or has a retail value of more than $10,000 and whose cost to repair exceeds 80 percent of the retail value," and to reject a percentage definition of "non-repairable vehicle."
The current definition approved by the Senate Commerce Committee, S. 852, defines a salvage vehicle as one that is up to 7 years old or has a retail value of more than $7,500 that has been wrecked, damaged or destroyed so that the total cost to reconstruct the vehicle to its pre-accident condition exceeds 80 percent of the retail value of the vehicle.
Consumer groups, however, have gained the attention of Sen. Trent Lott in advocating a threshold as low as 55 percent. ASA, the automotive aftermarket and the insurance industry are fighting for a higher threshold and a much more narrow definition.
ASA believes that consumers should have the opportunity to choose for themselves whether or not to have their vehicles repaired and the motor vehicle aftermarket should have the opportunity to repair them.
NHTSA Reviews Replacement Crash Parts Safety Issues || Technicians, Environmental Concerns in Service Shops || Managing Risk in Body Shops || Professionals Enhance the Industry's Image || Guest Editorial || Tech to Tech || Tech Tips || News Briefs || Taking the Hill || Around ASA || Net Worth || Stat Corner || Shop Profile || Chairman's Message
AutoInc. Magazine ®, Vol. XLVI, September 1998 (http://www.asashop.org)