Congratulations to John C. Arscott, president and CEO of the Pete Store, LLC, in Baltimore! John was recently announced as one of seven national dealers nominated for the American Truck Dealers and Heavy Trucking magazine for the Truck Dealer of the Year award. The winner will be announced on February 4 at the annual ATD Convention and Expo in Las Vegas. Best of luck, John! You make Maryland proud!

We urge our members to send in their registration form today to attend the 2012 Annual Membership Meeting and Legislative Reception. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at the Loews Annapolis Hotel. This year's guest speaker will be Blair Lee, Political Columnist for the Maryland Gazette Newspaper and Political Commentator for WBAL Radio. Mr. Lee has joined us at previous functions and always has great insight on our local and federal legislative environment.    

Members of both the executive and legislative branches of Maryland government have been invited. We anticipate our industry to come under fire as a source or revenue for the ailing Transportation Trust Fund. We must inform the legislative body of the importance of protecting the livelihood and future of Maryland's new car and truck dealers . In light of the legislative landscape it is critical that each dealership send a representative.

You may reserve your spot today by downloading a registration form and returning it by fax, 410.269.1549, or by mail to:

MADA

7 State Circle, Suite 301

Annapolis, MD 21401

MADA reminds all dealers to contact any purchaser for whom you were required to file a Form 8300 (Cash Reporting) in 2011. Each purchaser should receive notice by January 31, 2012, that your dealership has filed the form with the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS has been strictly enforcing the filing of Form 8300 cash reports, and a failure to report cash transactions over $10,000 could result in a minimum $25,000 fine. 

Dear (customer name):
We are required by the Internal Revenue to report transactions involving more than $10,000 in cash and "cash equivalent" under the provisions of 26 U.S.C 60501. (Name of dealership) has filed a Form 8300 with the IRS on (month, day, year) indicating that you provided us ($ amount) in connection with the purchase of your (year, make, model). We wanted you to know that we have complied with this federal requirement. Again, thank you for your patronage.
Sincerely,
(dealership name)

The FinCEN Form 8300 general instructions and the IRS definition of "cash" are available on the IRS Web site.

MADA announces the next live webinar coming to you from DealersEdge... 

With Sales Incentive Audits on the Rise - How to Avoid and/or Survive an Audit in Your Store

Date/Time: Thursday, December 15, 2011 at 1:00 pm

Cost: $149.00 per person

Presenter: Sherralyn Peterson, Former OEM Dealer Auditor

Most dealers carry huge liabilities in this area and are simply unaware of what might happen if they were selected for a Sales Incentive Audit.  Sherralyn Peterson is a former OEM Dealer Auditor and now works independently with individual dealers to audit-proof their records and systems.  She too has noticed increased activity and has agreed to spend 60-90 minutes with us on December 15th to share with you information about these audits that will help you avoid huge charge backs. 

In this webinar, you will learn:

• How to assess your potential liability related to a Sales Incentive Audit - How does the OEM select audit targets - How much money can be involved?
• How to employ a "check-list" of the key audit items and areas
• How to create an internal process to minimize the potential for a Sales Incentive Audit and huge, six-figure, charge back!

 CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TODAY! 

MADA's offices in Annapolis will be closed December 23rd and December 26th for Christmas. We will reopen for regular business on December 27th.  

We will also be closed on Monday, January 2, New Year's Day. We will reopen for business on Tuesday, January 3, 3012.

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