NACS works on a variety of issues on behalf of the convenience and petroleum retailing industry. The association strives to provide consistent, proactive government affairs solutions that impact the industry's bottom line. Some of these issues include:
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Health considerations regarding prepared foods are gaining momentum throughout the nation. Consumer advocates are pushing for labeling requirements to provide more information about the nutritional content of prepared foods.
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LIFO, an abbreviation for “last-in-first-out,” is a textbook accounting method used to determine both book income and tax liability. The term refers to the assumption made by a business in establishing the value of its inventories. This is opposed to the other common inventory accounting convention that is FIFO for “first-in-first-out.” LIFO came into the tax law in 1939.
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The estate tax relief provided by Congress in their tax cutting legislation of 2001 will end in 2010. Unless Congress acts, in 2011 the estate tax exemption will drop to $1 million per person and the maximum estate tax rate will increase to 55 percent.
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The International Packaged Ice Association is lobbying Congress to require the FDA to establish national standards for packaged ice production. Though some of the required standards would be feasible for a convenience store operation, others could become a burden for a single-store operation.
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The topic of rest area commercialization will likely come up during the reauthorization of our nation’s surface transportation programs, which will begin this summer. NACS will be working with other businesses that have location just off the highway system to help reserve this competitive market that has proven beneficial for both consumers and businesses.
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The Obama administration has put forward a proposal to authorize the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to impose fees on companies that produce, import and sell alcohol beverages. The president’s budget for FY2010 currently provides for TTB to collect fees to fund a substantial portion of its budget ($84 million of a total budget of $109 million).