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Senate Passes Bill Allowing Online Sales Tax
Late on May 6, the Senate, by a vote of 69 to 27, passed S. 743, the "Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013," which would allow states to require that sellers collect and remit sales and use taxes for "remote" sales-i.e., online sales-where the seller doesn't have a physical presence in the state. Prior to final passage of the bill, the Senate voted 70 to 24 in favor of an amendment (Amdt. 741) to the bill by Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY) and Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), which perfected the text of the legislation. Under the bill an online retailer would be subject to the same obligations imposed on a "brick and mortar" store within the state. This authority would be conditioned on states imposing certain minimum simplification requirements in the administration of the tax to ease the compliance burden on sellers. A small-seller exception would apply to sellers with annual gross receipts in total U.S. sales not exceeding $1 million. The measure will be sent to the House for consideration.
Click here for the text of the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, as passed by the Senate.
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Guidance on forthcoming required employer notice on health care coverage options
The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued guidance about the written notice that certain employers must provide to employees beginning in October on health care coverage options. Background. Beginning Jan. 1, 2014, individuals and employees of small businesses will have access to affordable health care coverage through a new competitive private health insurance market called the "Health Insurance Marketplace" (the Marketplace).
The Marketplace offers "one-stop shopping" to find and compare private health insurance options. Open enrollment for health insurance coverage through the Marketplace begins on Oct. 1, 2013. Section 1512 of the Affordable Care Act created a new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) section 18B that requires employers to provide written notice to employees about health insurance coverage options available through the Marketplace. For new guidance on notice requirement, click here. For the Employee Benefits Security Administration click here.
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(Federal Taxes Weekly Alert) IRS's highly publicized targeting of conservative groups in reviewing their applications for tax-exempt status has subjected the agency to vast criticism from across the political spectrum. Although there is an essentially unanimous consensus that IRS's actions were reprehensible, the scandal also raises a number of issues-namely, the role of politics in Code Sec. 501(c)(4) organizations and the need for clearer guidance on how to properly evaluate an application for Code Sec. 501(c)(4) status.
Background on Code Sec. 501(c)(4). Under Code Sec. 501(c)(4), civic leagues or organizations not organized for profit but operated
exclusively for the promotion of social welfare are exempt from income taxation if no part of their earnings inures to the benefit of any private
shareholder or individual and no substantial part of the organization's activities consists of providing commercial-type insurance. These
organizations may engage in political campaign activities on behalf of or in opposition to candidates for public office. However, in order to retain its tax-exempt status, an organization must ensure that political campaign activities do not constitute its "primary" activity. For the rest of the article click here.
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