VOTE NOW! LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD.
Ballots for the 2006-2007 Board of Directors were recently mailed to all members. We encourage you to exercise your right to vote. The future of TIA is in your hands. This year you have the opportunity to vote for up to ten new members of the Tire Industry Association Board of Directors. If you did not receive a ballot, it is available on the TIA website at www.tireindustry.org or you can call the national office at 800-876-8372. All ballots must be received or postmarked to TIA’s national office address or faxed to 301-430-7283 by September 1, 2006. DOWNLOAD LIST & BALLOT
CONFERENCES
Performance Tires & Wheels (PTW)
Las Vegas Convention Center • Las Vegas, Nevada
TIA Special Events Registration is Now Open!
Make plans to attend the “Neptune Poolside Welcome Reception” on Monday, October 30th at 6:30 p.m. and the “Breakfast with the President” on Tuesday, October 31st at 6:45 a.m. Registration is available at www.tireindustry.org.
Caesars Palace Hotel is the TIA headquarters hotel for PTW that is held in conjunction with the SEMA Show, October 31-November 3, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Please take advantage of securing a room at Caesars so you can have the convenience of staying at the hotel where TIA meetings and special events will be held. A group room rate of $195 single/double is available to members attending the show. You can secure your room by calling 800-967-8852, or 847-948-6789 and mention the “TIA Room Block.” Visit TIA’s
website at www.tireindustry.org to register for Special Events, or use the housing registration link to reserve a room at Caesars Palace. For a list of additional hotels, log on to www.SEMAShow.com.
PERFORMANCE TIRES & WHEELS PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA • OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 3, 2006
MONDAY, OCTOBER 30
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Annual Meeting * (Open to All Members)
6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Welcome Reception* (Open to All Members)
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31
6:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast with the President* (Open to All Members)
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
PTW/SEMA Show **
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
“Tires at Two” Seminars **
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
PTW/SEMA Show **
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
“Tires at Two” Seminars **
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
TIA International Dealer Reception* (Open to All Members)
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
PTW/SEMA Show **
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
“Tires at Two” Seminars **
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
PTW/SEMA Show **
* Caesars Palace
** Las Vegas Convention Center
MEMBERSHIP
We are receiving membership dues renewals daily. Many members are renewing online at www.tireindustry.org. We encourage you to use this time saving option. If you have not received your renewal notice, please contact Vickie Cunningham at 800-876-8372, ext. 120 or at vcunningham@tireindustry.org. Thank you for your continued support of TIA – “Working for the industry...Working for you.”
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
Death Tax/WOTC
Senate leader Bill Frist (R-TN), losing the vote to close debate, abandoned full repeal of the existing estate tax. The House swiftly passed the Permanent Estate Tax Relief bill, H. R. 5638, which while not fully repealing the tax, would permanently reduce the death tax rate (which otherwise goes up to 55% in 2011) and increase the amount of estate exempt from the tax to $5 million ($10 million per couple). This is a compromise we can live with but there is tremendous uncertainty as to how this will play out.
Other tax issues that should be on the front burners continue to be shuffled around the stove. The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), which is hitting an increasing number of middle class taxpayers has been the attention-getter and we probably won’t see an extension of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit until issues like this are resolved or agreed to postpone. To complicate the whole tax picture, Sen. Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is anxious to revive efforts to overhaul the entire tax code.
Immigration
There has been no real movement on immigration reform (see last month’s TIA FAX) other than a series of hearings around the country by proponents of the House and Senate bills. This effort by both sides to win the public’s sentiment in this format is probably a waste of taxpayer’s money but some would argue that it is the only way to bring the debate into the public forum. How many citizens will attend hearings on both sides of the issue? These shows will continue over the August recess.
Small Business Health Plan (SBHP)
Senator Mike Enzi has not given up hope for a vote on Small Business Health Plan legislation. The coalition will be meeting this month to shore up support and see if something can be done during the upcoming short sessions.
Right to Repair
TIA just spent the day on Capitol Hill trying to gather more co-sponsors for H.R. 2048, the Motor Vehicle Owner’s Right to Repair Act. During our visits to individual offices we were asked by every staffer to address what TIA now refers to as the credibility issue. Even the congressional staffers sympathetic to the cause are stressing the need for the proponents of this bill to get some solid data in place that documents the repair information problem. To that end, if you are a repair facility and have experienced problems repairing vehicles due to a lack of manufacturer information, please utilize the form that appears on TIA’s website (click here to download Form). This will be a great contribution to our legislative efforts on this critical issue.
TRAINING
The new Mitchell1 Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems Guide is now available. It includes all makes and models for domestic and import vehicles through the 2006 model year and is available in hard copy or on CD-ROM. TIA members who purchased last year’s Guide from TIA receive a substantial discount when they re-order the new edition from TIA. If you have previously purchased a Mitchell1 Guidefrom TIA and want to order the 2006 Edition, contact Paul Connolly at pconnolly@tireindustry.org or 800-876-8372, ext 100. Since each new model year is certain to bring changes to the recalibration and service procedures, we will make sure the latest Mitchell1 Guide and other resources are available to TIA members. The Commercial Tire Service program continues to set the standard for tire training and certification and we are rapidly approaching 20,000 certified technicians and instructors. As we approach this landmark milestone, we want to ensure our members know that TIA is planning for continued growth and has begun an initiative to automate the certification process so we can significantly reduce the time it takes for students to receive their results. Our goal is to provide members with a more efficient system for ordering materials, scheduling tests, and receiving results.
TIA FAX is a service for members of the Tire Industry Association. It is distributed the 3rd Monday of each month. Send suggestions and news releases to tmurphy@tireindustry.org, or fax them to 301.430.7283.Contact TIA at: 1532 Pointer Ridge Place, Suite G, Bowie, Maryland 20716-1883. Phone: 800.876.8372, 301.430.7280 or www.tireindustry.org.
