IRS Provides Guidance on NOL Carryback Election
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The
Internal Revenue Service November 20 issued much-anticipated guidance allowing
businesses with net operating losses (NOLs) for 2008 or 2009 to carry back those
losses for up to five years (rather than the current-law two years). The
extended carryback period was enacted as part of the Worker, Homeownership, and
Business Assistance Act of 2009 that was signed into law by President Obama on
November 6.
Rev.
Proc. 2009-52 prescribes rules governing when and how an
election to carry back an NOL for three, four, or five years may be made
by:
1.Businesses that
have not claimed a deduction for an NOL;
2.Businesses that
previously claimed a deduction for an NOL; and
3.Businesses that
previously filed an election to forgo the NOL carryback
period.
The
extended carryback period is available to any taxpayer with business losses,
except those that received payments under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. It
is also available to life insurance companies with losses from operations. Now
that guidance has been published, businesses can begin filing carryback
applications or refund claims.
Information provided by Food Marketing Institute (FMI)
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Senate Agrees to Begin Debate on 'Merged' Health Care Bill
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Health care reform
continues to inch forward in the Senate as lawmakers in that chamber voted
60-39 on November 21 to approve a motion to take up a 10-year, $849 billion
package that combines separate bills from the Finance Committee and the Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. As expected, the vote fell strictly
along party lines. With this procedural hurdle now cleared, debate on the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will begin when the Senate returns
from the Thanksgiving recess the week of November 30.
On the revenue side,
the merged bill calls for a 0.5 percentage point increase -- from 1.45 percent
to 1.95 percent -- in the tax on Medicare wages, to be imposed on income in
excess of $200,000 for singles and $250,000 for married couples.
The new bill would raise
the annual cost threshold for the 40 percent excise tax levied on so-called
"Cadillac" group health plans proposed in the original Senate Finance Committee
bill to $8,500 (from $8,000) for individual coverage and to $23,000 (from
$21,000) for family coverage. The merged bill will be fiercely debated over the
next weeks before being sent to the Senate floor.
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Changes to Family Medical Leave Act
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The
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has been recently amended to expand the
military related leaves allowed by this federal law. Although these
changes are nuances only an "HR Nerd" would notice initially, they do need to
be reflected in your policy. The new law (Fiscal Year 2010 National
Defense Authorization Act) includes an expansion of the Exigency Leave benefits
to include family members of active duty service members. (Formerly this only
included family members of the National Guard and Reservists.)
The Military Caregiver Leave has also been
expanded to include veterans who are undergoing medical treatment, recuperation
or therapy for serious injury or illness that occurred any time during the five
years preceding the date of treatment.
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New Employee Posting Required
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As
reported by Silvers HR Management, a new required federal employment poster must
be posted by November 21, 2009. This poster reflects the changes to the
federal employment discrimination law and the Americans with Disabilities Act
Amendments Act (ADAAA). Included in these changes are also updates
reflecting the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). GINA
prohibits employers from using an employee's or his/her family's genetic
information (such as pre-hire physicals, medical questionnaires, wellness
programs or life insurance information) to make employment decisions, offer
perks or benefits.
This new
poster should be placed with your employment posters. It will serve until
the 2010 posters are available for order.
The link to download the new poster is http://archive.eeoc.gov/self_print_poster.pdf. |
