News You Can Use

RTA NEWS YOU CAN USE
January 1, 2015

WE SAW THE FOLLOWING IN THE JANUARY 2015 ISSUE OF THE TIRE DEALERS ASSOCIATION OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA NEWSLETTER AND THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD REMINDER FOR ALL RTA RETREADERS IN THE U.S., WHICH IS WHY WE ARE SENDING THIS TODAY

ATTENTION RETREADERS

A new interpretation of a decades old revenue ruling resulted in the IRS sending out 10 field agents to crack down on retreaders who were not paying a FET on imported casings that were being retreaded.

Within two weeks, five TIA members contacted the Association office because they were being investigated by the IRS and were facing significant fines and tax bills.

TIA immediately contacted the IRS and presented a long history of rules, regulations, and revenue rulings. On May 19, the IRS contacted TIA and confirmed that they had reviewed and ultimately reversed their earlier action and released the affected retreaders from any liability.

The confusion resulted from an interpretation of a revenue ruling that spelled out that imported casings suitable for road use should be taxed. They interpreted that a retreaded tire was suitable for road use and was therefore subject to the new FET because it had not been previously taxed.
The Association had worked on a revenue ruling that clearly stated that an imported casing not suitable for use would be considered a raw material to be used in the retread process and would not be subject to the FET.

If any retreader is approached by an IRS field agent on this issue, please contact Roy Littlefield at the Association office. Roy can be reached at rlittlefield@tireindistry.org.

PS FROM HARVEY: If your company is not a member of the Tire Industry Association/TIA  now would be a good time to join. Their web address is tireindustry.org. Your investment in TIA is well worth the money, and you can tell them that Harvey said so!

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Life isn't about waiting for the showers to pass...
It's about learning to dance in the rain.
~Vivian Greene