The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a new temporary sick leave program related to COVID-19. Under Chapter 16 of the Acts of 2021 (An Act Providing for Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave), employers are now required to make paid leave time available to employees for COVID-related illnesses, quarantine, and vaccinations. Employers may then apply for reimbursement from the state.
As mitigation measures related to COVID-19 ease, it will be interesting to see which practices and regulatory changes taken in response to the pandemic remain in place long-term. One might be relief from a sometimes-inconvenient requirement related to the administration of 401(k) plans.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a Federal tax credit created as an incentive to employers to hire individuals from certain target groups that have consistently faced significant barriers to employment. The Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2021 extended the WOTC until December 31, 2025, giving employers additional time to make qualifying hires and claim the credit.
As vaccination levels rise and many areas of the country begin to fully reopen, business owners may find themselves wondering: Should we have a company retreat this year?
Life as we know it is trending back towards normal, but the professional landscape is forever changed. Employers are allowing employees to permanently work from home, which will change their respective technology needs. Developing a suitable set of technology solutions—often called a “technology stack”—helps businesses streamline operations and empowers employees to work efficiently and effectively in multiple work environments. Below we outline common examples of various business processes and applications that can be integrated with your accounting products, to help you custom-build your own technology stack.
On April 19, New York State passed a budget bill that included a Pass-Through Entity (PTE) tax election that impacts partnerships, limited liability companies treated as partnerships, and S-corporations.
Many employee benefit plan sponsors have faced logistical challenges during the pandemic, such as office closures and remote work environments, which have made it difficult to remit participant 401(k) contribution deposits on time. In response to these challenges, the Department of Labor (DOL)'s Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) has issued Disaster Relief Notice (2020-01), which provides flexibility and relief to sponsors struggling with remittance delays due to the pandemic.
The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, originally scheduled to reopen on Saturday, is now open as of today, Monday, April 26, 2021 at 12:00 p.m.
If you were to ask your IT staff about how tech support for remote employees is going, they might say something along the lines of, “Fantastic! Never better!” However, if you asked remote workers the same question, their response could be far less enthusiastic.
On April 1, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law a new COVID-19 relief legislation package with tax impacts for small business owners and individuals.
