Reminder, NPCA dues were mailed to you the last week of October and are payable January 1, 2014. To ensure that you are listed as a member in the 2014 member directory make sure that your dues are paid no later than March 1, 2014.

If you need an additional copy of your dues invoice, please email Katie at kjackson@npcainc.com.

The fuel tax rate for January 1 through June 30, 2014 will be 26.4 (0.9 cents per gallon variable tax; 10.3 cents per gallon fixed; and 15.2 cents per gallon wholesale tax).

As expected, Federal Judge John Gleeson approved the proposed settlement in the interchange fee class action litigation against Visa and Mastercard. It is also expected some plaintiffs will appeal the decision which could delay the settlement for another year or so.

The decision by Judge Gleeson is important but it is only one more step in a long process.  Petroleum marketers need not take any action as a result of this decision. Everyone involved must wait for the appeals process to reach conclusion.

Also, it is not yet necessary for retailers to secure the services of recovery specialists. If and when the settlement is finalized, PMAA will provide instructions to members concerning fund recovery processes. 

Not only did Congress approve a budget bill this week, but they agreed to the first bipartisan budget produced by a divided congress in 27 years! The deal which was crafted by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) does not include changes to entitlement programs or increases in taxes, so both parties won on key elements of the budget. The $1.01 trillion budget will lower the deficit over ten years and maintains half of the sequestration cuts for 2014 and 75 percent of the planned 2015 reductions. 

President Obama is expected to sign the bill which should prevent another government shutdown for the next two years if appropriations bills are finalized on time. Because Congress must pass appropriations by January 15 to avert a shutdown, an omnibus appropriations spending bill will be the first order of business when Congress returns in January.     

Companies with significant energy interests are now not sure what to think about federal tax policy as it relates to renewable and fossil fuels.  On Wednesday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) announced his preferred legislation for energy related tax policy.  Later that day, President Obama announced Senator Baucus as his nominee to serve as Ambassador to China.  If Senator Baucus heads to China, where does that leave his much publicized tax initiatives?  The energy tax reform proposal is one of four draft proposals released over the last few months.  The latest proposal would extend several existing energy tax credits, including the biodiesel blender's tax credit, through 2016.  Starting in 2017, energy tax credits would be awarded based on a fuel's CO2 emissions and its energy content, both compared to traditional gasoline.  The credit would be capped at one-dollar per gallon.