A reinvigorated Long Island Limousine Association (LILA) conducted its spring membership meeting on May 25 at the Holiday Inn Plainview. Despite being held during the busy prom season, forty members and guests attended the meeting. In addition to a presentation from CPA Firm Gettry Marcus, the event also served as an opportunity for the organization to elect a new board of directors.
The 2021 LILA Board of Directors are:
President: Tom Gouldsbury of Azure Limousines
1st Vice President: Charlie Gandolfo of Dynasty Limousine
2nd Vice President: Jim Powers of All Star Limousines
Treasurer: William Vedro of Friendly Transportation
Secretary: David Laschever of Winston Transportation
Sergeant at Arms: Michael Laschever of Winston Transportation
Director: Jim Powers Jr. of Star Touch Luxury Transportation
Director: Doug Schwartz of Executive Limousine
Safety Director: Joseph Marotta of Whitmore Group
LILA Director Doug Schwartz of Executive Ground Transportation
“Our meeting’s theme was built around employee retention tax credit,” says Board Member Douglas Schwartz of Executive Ground Transportation. “We had a Zoom with Gettry Marcus to educate members to take advantage of that situation because there’s a lot of money on the table.”
LILA membership meeting held on May 25
In short, the Employee Retention Credit is a fully refundable tax credit for employers equal to 50 percent of qualified wages (including allocable qualified health plan expenses) that Eligible Employers pay their employees. This Employee Retention Credit applies to qualified wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021. The maximum amount of qualified wages taken into account with respect to each employee for all calendar quarters is $10,000, so that the maximum credit for an eligible employer for qualified wages paid to any employee is $5,000.
In addition to the presentation, the board also discussed the current state of the economy and its effect on the industry. The meeting also provided excellent networking opportunities for the members.
“A lot of operators got to meet people they never met before,” says Schwartz. “We’re in a forward motion situation, and we’re going to be good moving into the future. We look forward to growing the association.”
The next LILA meeting is the association’s annual barbecue social event planned for August (date TBD).
Visit lilimoassociation.com for more information.
[06.20.22]