Several states have lodged a legal challenge to the entire Affordable Care Act (“ACAâ€) on the basis that the lack of an Individual Mandate tax makes the remaining provisions unconstitutional. While the Administration is not intervening, several other states are, defending the ACA’s sustainability without the Individual Mandate tax. No resolution to the legal questions…
For 2018 and 2019 only, there is a tax credit available to certain employers as to FMLA-qualifying circumstances (whether under FMLA or not) for employees earning $72,000 or less for whom paid family and medical leave is provided. Nothing in the rules requires the employer to be subject to FMLA to receive the tax credit.…
In 2015, Congress passed the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015 (the “Inflation Adjustment Actâ€) to direct federal agencies to adjust the civil monetary penalties for inflation every year. Civil penalties ensure compliance with federal regulation by incentivizing employers not to violate federal regulation and providing federal agencies the power to ensure compliance.…
The House of Representatives passed two pieces of legislation that, among other things, purport to improve and “modernize†health savings accounts (“HSAsâ€). While the bills call for significant changes to the current rules affecting HSAs, the specific details are very different. Summary of Proposed Changes H.R. 6199 would: Exclude a direct…
On June 1, 2018, New Jersey Gov. Murphy passed the Out-of-Network Consumer Protection, Transparency, Cost Containment and Accountability Act (the “OON Actâ€). In general, the OON Act applies to emergency services and other care provided by out- of-network physicians in in-network settings (i.e. hospital-based physicians). It takes effect on September 1, 2018. The Act…
On April 9, 2018, the IRS released its first round of guidance in the form of FAQs concerning the new employer credit for paid family and medical leave (FML) under Code Section 45S. Background Added by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Code Section 45S provides that for tax years 2018 and 2019, eligible…
On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state governments can collect sales taxes from online retailers, even if a retailer doesn’t have a physical presence in the state. Until this decision, states could only collect taxes from online retailers that had in-state headquarters or another significant connection to that state. This decision…
Recently, researchers at Talos—a cyber intelligence unit of Cisco—warned consumers of malware (malicious software) that specifically targets networking devices. The malware, which is known as VPNFilter, impacts an estimated 500,000 routers worldwide, particularly targeting devices from the following manufacturers: Linksys MikroTik Netgear QNAP TP-Link Once on your equipment, the malware could…