LEGISLATIVE ALERT - Augustine Commission Tax Recommendations Up Before Committees
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On Wednesday, March 2nd, the tax recommendations from the Augustine Commission report will be held before the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee at 1 p.m. in the Joint Hearing Room of the Legislative Services Building (90 State Circle, Annapolis, MD).
It is important for you to tell legislators how these bills will impact your business.
SB 841/HB 1250 - Income Tax - Pass Through Entities - Exemption
This bill allows an individual to subtract the first $20,000 of non-passive income that is attributed to a pass-through entity.
SB 842/HB 1252 - Corporate Income Tax - Single Sales Factor Apportionment
This bill allows Maryland-based businesses to use single sales factor apportionment to determine their Maryland modified income.
SB 844/HB 1251 - Interest Rate on Tax Deficiencies and Refunds
This bill would alter the interest rate on tax deficiencies and refunds to 11% in 2017 and 8% in 2018. After 2018, the rate would be adjusted to the average prime rate of the interest determined by the Board of Governors for the Federal Reserve Bank.
SB 846 - Corporate Income Tax - Rate Reduction
This bill would reduce the corporate income tax rate from the current 8.25% to 7% over a two-year period beginning in tax year 2016.
To view the Chamber's Recommendations to the Augustine Commission last fall, please click here.
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2016 Legislation Passed by the Howard County Legislative Delegation
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The Howard County legislative delegation has been busy and active during the current General Assembly session. Please click this link to view the bills the county's delegation passed this session. Some of these bills are now moving forward to their respective committees.
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| Links to the Howard County Legislative Delegation |
Senate
Gail Bates
[email protected]
Education, Health & Environmental Affairs Committee
District 9, Carroll and Howard Counties
District 12, Baltimore and Howard Counties
Delegates
Trent Kittleman
[email protected] Judiciary Committee
District 9A, Howard and Carroll Counties Clarence Lam
[email protected]
Environment & Transportation Committee
District 12, Baltimore and Howard Counties Terri Hill
[email protected] Health & Government Operations Committee
District 12, Baltimore and Howard Counties
Eric Ebersole
[email protected]
Ways & Means Committee
District 12, Baltimore and Howard Counties
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| Links to the General Assembly of Maryland Standing Committee | |
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Volume 2, Issue 5
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February 26, 2016
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LEGISLATIVE ALERT - Mandated Paid Sick Leave - Maryland Healthy Working Families Act - HB 580
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Hearing Date
Delegates Atterbeary, Ebersole, Lam, Hill, Pendergrass, and Turner are also sponsors of this bill.
Senate Hearing scheduled for 3/3 @1pm (Finance). House 3/1 at 1pm (Economic Matters)
The Howard County Chamber would like to know how you feel about this legislation especially if it will adversely affect your business. Please email communications to lmcclarty@howardchamber,com. We also encourage you to contact your Howard County Delegation members (listed to the left) and the committee considering this legislation and let them know how your business will be affected.
Summary
The bill specifically allows each employee:
- Provide up to 7 days (56 hours) of paid leave to employees working at least 8 hours per week (1 hour for every 30 hours worked).
- Accrue the leave from an employee's first day of work.
- Permit the employee to use the leave after the 1st 90 days of work or first 480 hours.
- Permit the employee to use the leave for preventative care, illness or certain situations involving domestic violence for themselves and/or a family member.
- Roll at least 56 hours of leave over from year to year.
- Reinstate any accrued, unused leave at the time of termination to an employee who is rehired within 12 month.
- Permit the employee to use this leave in the smallest increment that the employer's payroll system uses and not more than one hour increments.
Analysis and Primary Areas of Concern
We recommend opposing the bill because as drafted, there are no true exemptions for small businesses who will be dis-proportionally affected by this legislation. The bill does not include any provisions to address or prevent abuse or fraud and there several provisions that conflict with the current Family Medical Leave Act.
Despite the good intent behind the proposed policy, there are numerous items that would propose negative consequences to businesses and that may drive businesses and industries away from this state.
- While the Bill exempts employees with collective bargaining agreements and those who work less than 8 hours a week, it broadly covers all other employees (FT and PT),
- Paid sick mandated for employers with over 9 employees and unpaid for those employers with less than 9 employees. An employer with 10 employee is the same as an employer with 100 employees, yet their internal infrastructure is vastly different. Thus, this bill places an undue financial and administrative burden on smaller enterprises.
- It broadly defines family member (10 definitions) including immediate family as well as step, foster, guardian, and loco parentis.
- the allowance for carry-over of up to 80 hours in a year in excessive by today's sick leave standards.
- Employees can start exercising this benefit after only being employed for 90 days or 480 hours, whichever comes first.
- How does this fit in with existing PTO plans that employers already have? Would they have to be modified to count as compliance with the Paid sick leave?
- This is particularly burdensome on multi state employers as those with operations in DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania who have employees working in multiple jurisdictions with different rules.
- The bill does not include any provisions to address or prevent abuse or fraud and there several provisions that conflict with the current Family Medical Leave Act.
- Lastly, an Oct 1, 2016 effective date is extreme as no business would have budgeted for that expense.
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LEGISLATIVE ALERT: Equal Pay for Equal Work - HB401
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Hearing Date
Delegates Ebersole and Pendergrass are also sponsors of this bill.
Senate Hearing scheduled for 3/3 @1pm (Finance). House 3/1 at 1pm (Economic Matters)
The Howard County Chamber would like to know how you feel about this legislation especially if it will adversely affect your business. Please email communications to [email protected]. We also encourage you to contact your Howard County Delegation (listed to the left) members and the committee considering this legislation and let them know how your business will be affected.
Summary
This bill establishes the Equal Pay Commission to study and promote research regarding wage disparities and the factors which cause or tend to cause disparities; the effects wage disparities have on the economy and families; actions that are likely to eliminate and prevent wage disparities; promote programs that are aimed at eliminating wage disparities and recommend specific legislation to eliminate wage disparities between men and women, and between minorities and non-minorities. Any member of the commission may enter a place of employment to inspect and copy any payroll or other records to compare the character of work, question individuals and obtain information deem reasonably necessary for the administration and enforcement of the bill.
The bill also requires employers to include in any job announcement the following information:
- the minimum rate of pay (salaried or hourly)
- the rate of pay method
- whether or not the position is eligible for overtime (and how overtime will be paid), and,
- any allowances
*The employer may not pay the employee less than the minimum rate included in the announcement and may not ask, verbally or in writing, salary history information without written authorization from the employee or applicant.
Analysis and Primary Areas of Concern
The Howard County Chamber agrees that individuals should be fairly compensated regardless of race or gender. In this case, we are concerned an in opposition to this bill because Federal Law already covers this subject and many of the issues are duplicative. Further, the EEOC to handles many of these disputes.
If created, the Commission would be allowed to create programs and recommend legislation which oversteps the authority of the legislative process.
We were also concerned with employers not being able to inquire about wage/salary history, which could demonstrate work performance and experience, etc. This is problematic especially in sales where people tend to fabricate their prowess. If we are expected to be open, shouldn't it be two ways? Businesses use salary history to learn about a person's progression and check their honesty. It evens the playing field in negotiations and helps clarify expectations between both employer and employee. Not being able to have honest and open dialogue in the hiring process poses potential issues between the employer and employee.
Other concerns include but are not limited to:
- Employer postings and related to compensations,
- Fines can also be significant ($300-$5,000) and potential criminal charges attached to violations,
- Defines small employer as 4 or less employees and all employers with 4 or more employees are treated the same,
- This could be fraught with liability especially in small employer cases who may be less sophisticated in areas of legal and HR.
There are at least two other bills similar in nature to this that are listed below.
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