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November 19 ,2001 Headlines--- Internet Sales/Use Tax Most Likely Will Continue for Two More Years CalFirst Funding Names Cindy Keohane to Head New Leasing Program Bulletin Board Posting: CapitalWerks Better Business Bureau Rating Jefferey Joseph Wong---May He Rest in Peace Recession not worth depression—S.F. Chronicle Balboa to Underwrite Policies for American Leasing John Long,Equidity.Com Previous Prediction Holiday Wishes from: Ron Caruso www.efj.com Delegates to Sales Tax Simplification Governing States Econocom-USA
Appoints Johanna L. Burkett
Treasury agrees to
produce war bonds for first time since World War II
### denotes press release -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Highest Recommendation: A Must Read! The Perfect Storm: Why Successful Companies Have Exited the Marketplace http://www.leasefoundation.org/ss_grants.htm#storm download in pdf: http://www.leasefoundation.org/pdfs/perfectstorm.pdf 52 page “Must Read” Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation ( Please download and read over the Thanksgiving Weekend. See other information at this great “free” site. editor ) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Looks like the Unfair Internet Sales/Use Tax Most Likely Will Continue for Two More Years ( Equipment Leasing falls
under use tax provisions and depending on the state, the tax must
be made with the payment or paid “up-front. editor ) E-Commerce
Community Hails Tax Ban by Beth Cox
e-Commerce News The
e-commerce community was breathing a sigh of relief today after
Congress finally sent the President a bill to continue the moratorium
on new Internet taxes for two more years. Groups
as diverse as the Direct Marketing Association and the National
Conference of State Legislatures were hailing the vote. President
Bush said he would sign the legislation, although he would have
preferred a longer period of tax relief. The House of Representatives
last month approved an identical bill. The
Senate approved the measure Thursday on a voice vote after rejecting
an amendment that could have led to future collection of state
taxes on Internet sales and possibly Internet access. "The
administration believes that government should be promoting Internet
usage and availability, not discouraging it with access taxes
and discriminatory taxes," the White House said in a statement
supporting the legislation. The old
moratorium expired Oct. 21, but as predicted, there was no
real scramble on the part of local governments to devise new taxes.
But
it seems clear that companies doing business on the Internet eventually
will be required to collect sales taxes, at the very least. A
coalition of states is in the process of simplifying their tax
codes with the hope that Congress will allow them to collect sales
taxes on remote sellers. And
the amendment that was defeated would have required a congressional
vote to allow sales tax collections after 20 states agreed to
collect for each other. The
stakes for government are huge: a report in October showed state
and local revenue losses approaching an estimated $440 billion
between 2001 and 2011 as a result of remote sellers failing to
collect sales and use taxes. A
1992 Supreme Court decision currently prohibits states from collecting
taxes from catalog, Internet or other "remote" transactions
unless the retailer has a physical presence in the state. E-commerce
companies, of course, which do business in all 50 states, have
long contended that collecting sales taxes from thousands of state
and local jurisdictions would put an undue hardship on their nascent
businesses. Senators
favoring a simple extension argued that more study was needed
before a system was put in place that could allow a state to impose
a direct tax on residents of another state. In
any case, today's news was welcome to many. "The
moratorium's extension will allow businesses to develop and stretch
their wings on the Internet," said H. Robert Wientzen, president
and CEO of the Direct Marketing Association. "The moratorium's
extension will ensure that e-commerce can continue to grow..."
"Resolution
of the Internet access tax moratorium is a victory for the economy
because it reduces the amount of uncertainty firms have about
whether states will effectively reduce online traffic by putting
up toll roads," said Frank Julian, a DMA member and operating
vice president and tax counsel, Federated Department Stores Inc.
"The
American economy and the high-tech industry benefit from the Senate's
extension of the Internet tax ban," said Bill Archey, president
of the high-tech industry group AeA. Even
the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) applauded
the vote, saying that it is "a validation of all the progress
states have made on sales tax simplification in the past two years."
"Over
the next two years states will have the opportunity to complete
a simpler and more streamlined sales tax process that will clear
up any confusion about taxes as they relate to Internet and other
remote sales," said Matt Kisber, co-chair of NCSL's Executive
Committee Task Force on the State and Local Taxation of Telecommunications
and Electronic Commerce ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CalFirst Funding Names Cindy Keohane to Head New Leasing Program (Santa Ana, CA) Cindy Keohane, senior vice president and chief credit officer for California First National Bank, has been selected to head the bank's new leasing organization, CalFirstFunding ( <http://www.calfirstfunding.com/> www.calfirstfunding.com). According to Keohane, CFF's leasing programs are available to lease originators and independent lessors for transactions from a minimum $250,000 up to a lessee's full capital spending needs. Since inception in June 2001, CFF has approved more than $25 million in lease financings. CalFirstFunding's parent organization, California First National Bancorp, is a publicly traded financial services company founded in 1977, with stockholder equity in excess of $175 million. 5 Hutton Centre Drive, Suite 200 Santa Ana, California 92707 : (800) 317-9916 : (714) 436-6508 : custservice@calfirstfunding.com Bulletin Board Posting: CapitalWerks Better Business Bureau Rating
Better
Business Bureau of the Southland
rates Capitalwerks
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ May He Rest in Peace Jeffrey Joseph Wong---San Francisco Chronicle ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff Wong Remembered by his colleagues "We
are at such a loss from not only a wonderful personal friend but
a leader in leasing's legal community," said Equipment Leasing
Association President Michael Fleming. __ A
few words on behalf of
National Association of Equipment Lease Brokers Jeff
Wong attended two NAELB annual conferences, entertaining during
luncheons with his unique stand-up comedy and spending hours with
our members talking about leasing andlegal matters. Those
of us who were privileged to know him will never forget him. He
was a friend to NAELB and we had hoped he would become a fixture
at our conferences. Our sympathies go out to his family. Board
of Directors National
Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers I saw Jeff last night at the Princeton/Cal game and he was very much his normal, joking, amazing self. He was one year ahead of me at Princeton and went to all the games. Tomorrow would have been one of his great tailgates. I think it was after 9pm, I saw him and he was in great form. There is no question he lit up our lives like no one else, and we're all lucky and thankful to know him. I am just shocked to hear about this. Krist Krist Jake krist@redcap.com ~~~ I think most of us in this business knew Jeff and admired his knowledge, friendship and humor. It really is sad...and only 58. Sincerely, Deborah J. Monosson BOSTON FINANCIAL & EQUITY CORPORATION ___ What a loss!!! I remember Jeff for many years.... About 30 years ago when Jim Swander and I were starting RS Leasing (Now RSN Leasing) Jeff was always a willing legal advisor and most of the time "Pro Bono" I have on my wall a 14 X 17 framed picture of Jeff and I and two other chaps posing by a golf cart when he graciously supported one of the charity golf tournaments I organized when I was at Atlantic Financial... He was always a very giving and caring person... His one liners were legend.... I can hear them laughing and groaning in Heaven now... Yes, I'm sure he squeaked in.... Love him and will miss him! Duane Russell DuaneRuss@aol.com ~~~~ We have lost one of the Great Ones. Jeff's knowledge of leasing and superb legal skills were exceeded only by his consistent good humor and sincerity. The moments of our lives are enriched by the truly good people we chance to meet. Jeff made many of mine golden. I will miss him. Barry Marks ``` Along with the rest of the entire leasing industry, I am deeply saddened by the loss of Jeff Wong, whom I was fortunate to meet at leasing industry events. The first time I met Jeff, I recall the presence that he brought into a room with him. As soon as he walked in a room, you knew that he was someone special. He had that presence about him. The first time I saw Jeff come into a reception, I thought to myself that there is one of, if not the best, lawyer in the leasing industry. I then went up to Jeff and introduced myself and his response was "Joe, it's a pleasure to meet you, I've read some of your writing." As we talked, we found that we had a common lawyer friend in Boston and very quickly, Jeff had removed any stigma that I had about his esteemed reputation and made me feel like his long time friend. I recall that when I first saw Jeff's comedy routine, that myself and the entire audience were roaring with laughter. But some of his jokes told me something about him. In his routine, he would poke fun at himself and I wondered why. Later, I came to understand that Jeff Wong, the stand-up comedian, was a warm, kind hearted person that at times poked fun at himself so that others could laugh. That was the joy that he experienced in his comedy, making others laugh, even if it was at him. That quality told me that the lawyer on the outside was a very kind and warm hearted person on the inside, where it counts the most. Today's world is a very tough place at times and "lawyering" can be a very tough business. In his comedy, Jeff found his diversion from his work and the world, it was his way of relaxing, his way interacting with people by making them laugh, so that he could have fun with people rather than be a lawyer to them. His comedy was his way of being the best person he could be. Jeff Wong who was one of, if not the best, leasing attorney in the United States will be missed by the entire industry. Jeff Wong, the best person that he could be, will be missed by all those he made laugh and that ever met him. Joe Bonanno ATTYJGB@aol.com I am saddened to hear of the demise of one of the "good guys" in the industry. He was a walking compendium of industry knowledge capable of imparting his expertise with a calculated blend of professorial seriousness and droll humor. I learned early he could take a joke as well as he could tell one. I first met Jeff while attending a morning round table discussion at a UAEL event a few years ago. He took a seat next to me, began fumbling through his pockets, and turned to me with a slight tone of concern and said "I've lost my ID badge". I smiled and replied, "You are Jeff Wong." Without missing a beat, he laughed heartily and shared with the other tablemates that he'd need not worry about losing his ID badge now that he had been reminded who he was. Jim Fleming nationalbusinesscredit@yahoo.com ~~~~ I am so saddened by the news of Jeff's death. I found him to be more that a sharp attorney who knew everything about everything that pertained to the legalities of our industry, but someone who made learning what he knew fun. Jeff and I worked together in drafting the portion of the CLP exam pertaining Lease Law and the elective portion pertaining to Collections. This was for the second battery of CLP candidates and we were under time constraints to finish it in time for the exam. Jeff never let me rest until we had completed those sections and submitted a selection of nearly twice the number of questions that were necessary. I provided a different sort of discipline. If he had gotten his way, every question would have been a trick answer, he joked through the whole project. (One of his suggestions for an answer to a question we discussed having to deal with a late payment clause I recall was a multiple choice consisting of life imprisonment, death by torture, or having to take the CLP exam. That was Jeff.) This last summer I spotted an Asian-American driving a red Lamborghini down here in So. Cal. I thought it looked like Jeff and judging from the car, thought there was a good shot it was. Having not seen him in several years I chased the car for almost eight blocks until I caught up with it at a red light. The driver rolled down the window and asked if he could help me as I was staring at the resemblance and it was only then that I realized it was not Jeff. I said I was sorry, but thought he was someone else. Then he asked me (nicely) if I thought all Asians looked alike. I smiled and said, "No. No one can be like the guy I was thinking of." Jeff will be sorely missed by the leasing industry, not only for the contributions he has made, but for the many that he will now not be able to make. Hal Horowitz Hal T. Horowitz hal.horowitz@searchwest.com Our Condolences Franco Sepede fsepede@millenniumleasing.com ~~~ Very Sad News. Steve ~~ Very sorry to hear about Jeff Wong, he was a great guy and I will miss him terribly. C. Rogers Childs, Jr. _______________________________________________________________- John Long,Equidity.Com Previous Prediction In up-dating the eLease page at Leasing News, “deleting the second largest company on the list, Equidity, due to their filing of bankrupcy...this is what the president wrote to us about the news of LeaseExhchange: “I would argue that "eLeasing Companies" have or are going the way of LeaseExchange. Equidity is a technology company that has created a credit origination platform to facilitate multi-channel credit origination for Financial Institutions and credit origination, coupled with a funding network, for vendor finance programs. Our genesis was EqualFooting, a small business marketplace for lending products, ala LiveCapital. Today, we are selling our infrastructure to financial institutions and fortune 2000 vendors. “You can check out our website at www.equidity.com. We have raised $70 million to date and have lending partners like: MBNA, Wells Fargo, and CIT. “Yes, it is a crowded space. But we will be one of the last ones standing. Rumors have it that eCredit is down to its last 2 months of cash. Equidity, LiveCapital, and CapitalStream will most likely survive the shakeout.” Cheers, John Long ( Equidity is going, LiveCapital is struggling as well as CapitalStream, who has survived a number of deep surgical cuts in this spiraling leasing marketplace. Spiraling may not be the correct word, perhaps it is swirling. We have seen many companies go swirling down the drain. It is ironic, Tom Williams, one of the founders of LeaseExchange still survives with this company, with whatever activity it has but has basically moved back to his experience in direct marketing and direct leasing, and is doing quite well. The Lease Foundation report: The Perfect Storm may have interviewed Mr. Williams as his knowledge is reflected in it. editor ) Recession not worth depression David Lazarus, San Francisco Chronicle It's not yet official, but the bean counters and number crunchers say we're already in a recession. That's obviously a bad thing. But I'll tell you, I'm having a hard time getting a fix on just how bad all this really is. One day, the economic statistics tell us the sky is falling. The next, they seem to be saying that things are getting better. We learned last week, for example, that retail sales rose more in October than in any month since the government began tracking such things 10 years ago. Yet this cheerful news came on the heels of word that the nation lost 415, 000 jobs that same month, the largest decline in 21 years. Most people I've spoken to recently said their lives haven't really changed one way or another since the recession set in. They're still going to the movies, still hitting restaurants. Maybe they're not going to splurge on an extravagant vacation any time soon, but, as cable car driver Mark LaCroix told me, "I wasn't going to go anywhere anyway." That's not to minimize the impact this downturn has had on the many people who have lost their jobs in past months. For them, of course, this recession is as nasty and scary an experience as any. But for the many, many others -- the vast majority of us, in fact -- who are still thankful to be bringing home a paycheck, it's only fair to wonder: Where's the fire? "This isn't a crisis by any means," said Michael Lehmann, an economics professor at the University of San Francisco. "The unemployment rate has gone from about 3 percent to about 5 percent. In other words, we've gone from 97 percent of people working to 95 percent. That's not a crisis." Still, things have been tougher for some than for others. Silicon Valley has been particularly prone to layoffs since the dot-com bubble went pop. The hotel industry and other tourism-related businesses have been hammered since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Leslie Cooper of Millbrae has managed to hang on to her job at a Bay Area hotel. But plenty of her colleagues have received pink slips. "I'm much more conscious of saving money," Cooper said. "I'm not going to be buying as many presents for the holidays this year." Yet for everyone like Cooper I met, there was someone else like Janine Hunn of San Francisco, who raises funds for arts organizations and, remarkably, has found no limit to donors' generosity. "We've made more in the past two months than we had since July 1," she said. Moreover, and this is an important point, the current recession has had some positive effects in Hunn's eyes. "I like life in the Bay Area more than ever," she said. "It's less competitive and more friendly. It's not all about money, money, money anymore. It's the way I like things." Bob Barbera, chief economist at Hoenig & Co. in New York, said this is an increasingly common perception among many in the middle class, those who watched with concern and envy as others got fat off the gravy years. "The second half of the '90s was a boom that provided most of its gains to a relatively small group of people," he observed. "If that bothered you, you're probably not so unhappy about the current recession." The wealthy are bearing much of the brunt of the downturn, Barbera said, and to some extent this can be seen as a leveling of the playing field. In essence, we're back where we started. "If the swells are getting it between the eyes, there's a certain schadenfreude appeal," he said. San Francisco cop Mark Cota wouldn't disagree. While working undercover in the Tenderloin, he told me that he and his wife, a school teacher, were just getting by during the go-go years while kids barely out of college were buying BMWs and fancy homes on the Peninsula. "We felt we weren't keeping up with the Joneses," Cota said. "Now that a recession is coming, we're feeling a little better about our situation." Clearly, there are recessions and there are recessions. This one might be taking its toll on some segments of the economy, but overall it isn't exactly the bloodbath some had been expecting. Lehmann at the University of San Francisco pointed toward anecdotal evidence going around that things in the Bay Area are now so tough, you can't find a U-Haul to rent to move your stuff away. "What you have to remember is that this follows a time when you couldn't find a U-Haul to move here," he said. "And for every five people who arrived in the Bay Area with a U-Haul, probably only one is leaving." Even so, Lehmann thinks the economy will worsen further before finally climbing out of its hole. "But even if we reach 10 percent unemployment like we saw in 1981, that still means 90 percent of the population is working," he said. "That's pretty high. It's not a disaster." Hoenig's Barbera is more optimistic. He expects the economic picture to begin brightening by next spring. The gradually improving stock market, he said, suggests that we may have already hit bottom. This recession is a moving target. One minute it's in your face, the next it appears to be in retreat. Keeping track of all the conflicting signs and statistics probably won't tell you much of anything at the moment. My feeling is that a little indigestion is natural after a big meal, and America has finished one hell of a supper. It'll pass. It always does
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Balboa Insurance ( no relations to Balboa Capital
) to Underwrite Annual Premium Policies for American Leasing Insurance
( no relations to American Leasing ) IRVINE, CA) - Balboa Insurance Company (Balboa),
one of the nation’s leading providers of credit-related and
specialty insurance products and services, announced today that
it has entered into an agreement
with American Lease Insurance Agency Corp. (ALI) to underwrite
“annual premium for term coverage” policies for equipment
lessors serviced by ALI. American
Lease Insurance is a Massachusetts-based specialty insurance manager,
exclusively servicing equipment-leasing companies throughout the
country. “We see this new policy as part of the financial
services industry’s move away from single-premium insurance
offerings for credit life and credit property coverage,”
said Bobby King, Balboa senior vice president. “ The new
policy requires covered equipment lessors to advance only annual
premium for term coverage on their leased equipment. This is a significant difference from standard
leased equipment insurance policies that require lessors to advance
term premiums for term coverage.” “American Lease Insurance shares Balboa’s
philosophy of excellence and customization of products and services
to meet the needs of customers. They bring to the table a true
commitment to offer meaningful protection to its clients and their
customers, while providing a significant revenue stream to insured
lessors,” King said. “We worked with Steve Dinkelaker in the past,
when we teamed up to support AVCO (Balboa’s former parent)
in its leased equipment program,” said King. “We found
Steve to be an innovative and knowledgeable partner, with an entrepreneurial
spirit. He has been the driving force behind the second-generation
lease tracking programs that ALI provides. We look forward to
a highly successful alliance.” American Lease Insurance President, Steve Dinkelaker,
is a licensed insurance agent and broker who has been active in
the equipment leasing industry since the mid 1980s. He conceived of, implemented, and managed lease insurance programs
for almost all of the major small-ticket leasing companies during
his career. ALI began
operations early last year and is a member of the Equipment Leasing
Association, the Eastern Association of Equipment Lessors, the
United Association of Equipment Leasing, and the National Association
of Equipment Leasing Brokers. ALI services its lessor clients and their lessee
customers from its customer care and claims processing center
in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, one hour north of Hartford,
CT. About Balboa Insurance Company: Balboa is one of the Balboa Life and Casualty companies
founded in 1948 to provide quality credit-related insurance products
for the lending industry. Balboa’s underwriting activities
are principally geared toward credit related coverages including
collateral protection, credit property, creditor-placed fire and
hazard, homeowners and credit accident and health insurance. Headquartered
in Irvine, California, Balboa stands as a dominant player in its
market niche. Balboa is wholly owned by Balboa Insurance Group,
a subsidiary of Countrywide Credit Industries (NYSE: CCR), a global
provider of diversified financial services in consumer and business-to-business
markets. Headquartered in Calabasas, CA, Countrywide is a member
of the S&P 500 and Forbes 500. The company has more than 16,000
employees and 500 offices nationwide. In its most recent fiscal
quarter (ended August 31, 2001), Countrywide funded more than
$30 billion in new residential mortgages. The company services
the mortgages of more than 3 million homeowners across the country. About American Lease Insurance: ALI provides customized, automated lease insurance
programs to lessors of equipment valued below $250,000. ALI programs
offer lessors comprehensive lease portfolio protection with a
Leased Equipment Insurance Policy that lessees can use instead
of their own coverage. Other coverage that lessees provide to satisfy
their lease obligations are tracked throughout the remaining lease
terms for expiration or cancellation of other coverage. ALI programs are quickly and easily integrated
with an insured lessor’s existing lease accounting software
via secure data transfers that ensure efficiency, accuracy, and
privacy. Holiday Wishes from: Ron Caruso www.efj.com ((((((( WELCOME TO PULSE ONLINE! ))))))) The Equipment Financing Journal (The EFJ) Two things are essential to revive the ailing economy sooner rather than later: 1) Good holiday shopping numbers from consumers and 2) Congress to stop bickering and pass some type of spending stimulus, make that effective economic stimulus for business. Absent one or both, the first half of ’02 could be rather gloomy. For the leasing industry, ’01 is ending on a low note. New business for the year will probably not reach expectations, although profits, due to reduced funding costs, may exceed expectations. Going into the new year, the leasing whales with their access to and low cost of funding will be able to cherry pick among vendors and lessees for new business opportunities. However, will this provide enough sustenance for their very large appetites? Probably not for all - where will they turn? Stay tuned! (P.S. Happy Thanksgiving to all!) _________________________________________________________________ Delegates to Sales Tax Simplification Governing States Dennis Brown <dbrown@elamail.com
http://www.leasingnews.org/delegatelist.htm #### ########################### ########################### ############ ECONOCOM-USA, Inc. Appoints Johanna L. Burkett
ECONOCOM-USA, Inc. announces the appointment of Johanna L. Burkett to the position of Director of Marketing and Communications. Prior to joining ECONOCOM-USA, Ms. Burkett was Senior Editor/ Publications Manager of Equity Research at Morgan Keegan. ECONOCOM-USA, Inc. is
a 30-year-old Memphis, Tennessee-based full service commercial
lessor of computer technology assets with installations present
in 40 states. Its portfolio is generated utilizing a direct sates
approach and an indirect channel of nonexclusive agencies throughout
the USA. ECONOCOMUSA, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the
ECONOCOM Group, a publicly traded (Brussels Bourse: ECON)
Belgian chartered leader in IT asset management with four business
sectors: Procurement, Network Services, Comprehensive Financing
and Telecom Services, serving over 10,000 clients in Europe and
the United States. CONTACT: Johanna L. Burkett ( courtesy ELAonline.com ) #### ######################## ####################### . Treasury agrees to produce war bonds for first time since
World War II
By Nancy
Zuckerbrod, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) The Treasury
Department is going to issue war bonds the first since World War
II to help pay for the fight against terrorism and for relief
efforts. Several lawmakers sent
a letter to Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill Friday urging that
''Patriot Bonds'' be issued. When they will be available
to the public, how many will be sold and in what denominations
will be up to the department. Treasury spokeswoman Betsy Holahan
said Friday the bonds could probably be issued within a month.
''The public is unified
in its desire to take decisive action and now will have the opportunity
to contribute directly to help rebuild the broken and retaliate
against terrorism,'' said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who sponsored
war bond legislation in the Senate and signed the letter to O'Neill.
The U.S. government has
issued special bonds, essentially a version of existing savings
bonds, to help pay for war efforts since the Revolutionary War.
In World War II, they were initially offered in May 1941 as defense
bonds and changed to war bonds after the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor. The government raised
billions through bond drives between 1941 and 1946, including
$50 billion in war bonds, according to the Congressional Research
Service. The Senate and House
both recently approved legislation for the issuance of war bonds.
Treasury officials had
been lukewarm to the idea, saying a better way for citizens to
help the country would be to donate to charity or spend money
to boost the economy. The situation was different
during World War II. The government wanted people to save money
rather than buy goods to keep inflation in check. ______________________________________________________________________
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