GNYADA June 2019 Newsletter

Questions from the Field

1)

How do I make sure my dealership's email marketing campaigns are compliant?

be masked as a personal correspondence, in the hope that more people will open/read it. n Include your physical address. This means your postal address (or P.O. box) registered with the U.S. Postal Service, or a private mailbox you've registered under Postal Service regulations. n Provide easy opt-outs. There must be an explanation of how the recipient can unsubscribe from your email list. The opt-out must be easy to recognize, read, and fol- low. You must honor unsubscribe requests within 10 business days and be able to process them for at least 30 days after sending your message. n Monitor what contractors do on your behalf. You are responsible for any violations within commercial emails that advertise your dealership, even if you use an outside company to do your electronic marketing.

New York State specifically exempts certain transactions from the waste tire tax. Sales to an exempt organization is NOT one of the specified exemptions, therefore, waste tire tax fees must be collected. The following sales of new tires are not subject to the waste tire tax: n Sales to New York State, its agencies, instrumentalities and political subdivisions; n Sales to the U.S., its agencies, and instrumentalities; n Sales to limited dividend housing companies (exempt under section 93(1) of the Private Housing Finance Law) ; n Sales to nonprofit property and casualty insurance companies (exempt under section 6707 of the Insurance Law) ; All email messages sent from your dealership must comply with the federal law that establishes rules for commercial email, known as the CAN-SPAM Act. This Act applies to any email with the primary purpose of advertising or promoting a product or service. The FTC can enforce penalties of up to $16,000 for each separate email in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act. Here are the primary requirements: n Avoid false/misleading “From” info. This means no phony email addresses. The “From” field must identify the person or business initiating the message. n No deceptive subject lines. The subject line must accurately reflect the message's content. n Identify the message as an advertisement. Disclose this clearly and conspicuously. The communication cannot 2)

If a customer’s transaction is exempt from sales tax, is the buyer still required to pay the waste tire tax?

Sales of tires for resale; and

n

n Sales of tires for exempt vehicles including: n electric wheelchairs n go-carts n golf carts n go-peds (skateboards and scooters that have a motor and a handle for a standing rider) n mini-bikes n motor-assisted bicycles n vehicles that run only on rails or tracks. If the sale is not covered by one of the exemptions above, the waste tire tax is due.

GNYADA Membership Services: GNYADA’s Field Services representatives Len Telvi & Aaron Brown keep dealers aware of current and pending issues. They assist dealers daily, keeping them updated with the information they need to run their businesses. This personal contact helps ensure our programs are relevant to dealers and their employees. During visits, members stock up on labor, service, and shop posters. DMV forms, seminar registration materials, and other items are available through the field team. Representatives may also complete a walk-through of the dealership, inspecting each area for potential EPA, OSHA, and Privacy Act violations as well as proper signage. If you would like to schedule an appointment with our Field Services team, please call GNYADA at 718.746.5900.

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Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association • www.gnyada.com

The Newsletter • June 2019