California Payroll Report articles from February 2002

California Payroll Report archives from February 2002

Consolidation of state's labor agencies proposed.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2002... After two decades of debates, it looks like California's scattered labor-related departments are finally going to be reorganized under the direction of a single agency. In his State of the State address, Governor Gray Davis proposed the...

"Minor" clarification of the subminimum wage.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2002... California labor laws provide for several minimum wage standards. For example, in 2002, nonexempt employees must be paid at least $6.75 an hour. And to be considered exempt, computer professionals must earn a minimum of $42.64 an hour;...

Just in case.(requirements of CA employers)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2002... * Just in case. California employers are required to provide their terminated or laid-off workers with a copy of For Your Benefit--California's Programs for the Unemployed (DE 2320). This booklet was recently revised, however, to incorporate...

DLSE collects $903,000 in back wages for contractor's employees.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2002... * DLSE collects $903,000 in back wages for contractor's employees. A three-month investigation by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement found multiple violations of minimum wage, overtime, industrial homework, and child labor laws by...

Oakland voters to decide on new living wage ordinance for port.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2002... * Oakland voters to decide on new living wage ordinance for port. The Oakland City Council has voted to place a limited living wage ordinance on the ballot next month. The ordinance was modified to apply only to "port-assisted" maritime or...

IRS employer publications available.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2002... * IRS employer publications available. The 2002 supplements to Publication 15, Circular E, are now available. Pub.15-A, Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide, has detailed information on withholding and reporting employment taxes, as well as new...

IRS's new deposit ordering procedures may eliminate cascading penalties.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2002... As promised in your last issue, here is an explanation of the new failure-to-deposit rules that will apply to late or insufficient deposits of federal income, FICA, and FUTA taxes: Designated deposits. Under the new Rev. Proc. 2001-58,...

State and federal tax breaks proposed for entertainment industry.(California)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2002... In an effort to strengthen California's position as the world's film leader and halt the exodus of film industry jobs to other states and Canada, Governor Gray Davis announced his support for a tax break for California-based film productions....

INS update: work authorization and status verification.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2002... One aspect of the "new normalcy" in this country has been an increased interest on the part of its citizens in the efforts of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). This is especially true here in California, where more foreign...

Higher education tuition reporting will be simpler in 2003.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2002... For the past few years, colleges, universities, and other postsecondary educational institutions have been expressing their frustration with having to provide the IRS with specific personal, scholastic, and financial information about their...

IRS proposes regs on stock option withholding, FICA and FUTA taxes.
February 21, 2002... As we've discussed in previous issues, for two years the IRS has been taking a closer look at the employment tax treatment of statutory and nonstatutory stock options. In particular, the IRS considered whether to require employers to withhold...

OCONUS per diem rates--for Alaska, Hawaii, and overseas U.S. territories (effective Jan. 2002).(Statistical Data Included)
February 21, 2002... OCONUS Per Diem Rates--For Alaska, Hawaii, And Overseas U.S. Territories (effective Jan. 2002) Location Lodging M&IE Total ALASKA ANCHORAGE May 1 to Sept. 15 161 65 226 Sept. 16 to April 30 ...

OCONUS notes.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2002... Per diems for states and U.S. territories outside the continental U.S. (OCONUS) are set by the Department of Defense; per diems for foreign areas are set by the State Department. The rates are changed periodically and published monthly. We've...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
February 21, 2002... In the article on catch-up contributions to retirement plans in your January 21, 2002, issue (page 3) we noted that there were nine states without state income tax. However, as an astute reader pointed out, we listed only eight of those...

IRS says no to double-dipping on tax breaks for health care coverage.
February 21, 2002... Employers have a number of options for providing health benefits to employees on a tax-favored basis. They can, for example, allow employees to pay the cost of health care coverage with pre-tax dollars through a cafeteria plan (under IRC Sec....

The real story about the Rate Reduction Credit.
February 21, 2002... It's come to our attention that many payroll managers are being approached by employees who are upset about the new "Rate Reduction Credit" line on their 2001 income tax return. Fired up by misleading news reports, many taxpayers believe the...

New law expands tax relief for victims of terrorism.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2002... As we reported last fall, the IRS scrambled to initiate special disaster-related tax relief to those directly affected by the September terrorist attacks. Congress stepped up to the plate as well, preparing legislation that would extend...

2002 CONUS rates--per diems for the continental U.S.(Statistical Data Included)
February 21, 2002... 2002 CONUS Rates--Per Diems for the Continental U.S. STANDARD RATES CITY/COUNTY LODGING MEALS COMBINED NEW MEXICO ALBUQUERQUE 65 38 103 CLOUDCROFT June...

Make room for one more poster.(time-off rules apply on California's Election Day)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... In case you haven't noticed the campaign ads yet, there's an election coming up on March 5. And no matter what your political inclination, because this is a statewide election, you need to be aware that special time-off rules apply on...

Up-front contributions may reduce your company's 2002 SUI taxes.
February 7, 2002... As payroll manager, you may be able to reduce your company's SUI tax liability this year. By making a voluntary contribution to your SUI reserve account, you could raise the balance enough to push your company into a lower tax rate bracket....

New EDD Call Center hours.(Employment Development Department)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... New EDD Call Center hours. The Employment Development Department has announced that the Employment Tax Call Center will be open Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Pacific time). EDD staff will be available (at 1-888-745-3886)...

Personal service contracts.(California bill mandates higher wages for employees of personal service businesses contracting with state)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Personal service contracts. A bill mandating higher wages for employees of all personal service businesses contracting with the state has been presented to the Employees, Retirement and Social Securities Committee of the State Assembly. ...

New CONUS rates in effect.(business travel expense reimbursements)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... New CONUS rates in effect. Employers who use the federal per diem rates for business travel expense reimbursements and did not switch to the 2002 CONUS rates last October are reminded that they must use the new rates as of January. (See your...

New DE 4 available online.(Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... New DE 4 available online. The 2002 DE 4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, is now available online at www.edd.ca.gov/de4.pdf. You can print out copies of the form to distribute to employees who wish to adjust their state...

Deadlines for voluntary state unemployment tax contributions.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Arizona: By January 31 Arkansas: Within 30 days after mailing of contribution rate notice California: By March 31 (last working day of March) Colorado: Any time prior to March 15 Georgia: Within 30 days of issue date of tax...

Expansion of the earned income credit can mean more money for more employees.
February 7, 2002... Advance payments of the earned income credit (EIC) seem to be one of the better-kept secrets in the area of federal tax breaks for lower income workers. But with the changes going into effect this year (notably, the increased income...

Laws affecting federal contractors come--and go.("contractor responsibility" and "Beck notice" rules revoked)
February 7, 2002... Two relatively new--and controversial--rulings pertaining to federal contractors have been revoked. "Blacklisting" banned. In its final days, the Clinton administration issued a rule requiring that federal contracts be awarded only to...

State and federal tax guidelines for nonwage payments to employees (part two).
February 7, 2002... In your last issue, we discussed the tax treatment (under laws effective in 2002) of awards and prizes, adoption expenses, bonuses, business expenses, cash-or-deferred plans (including retirement plan catch-up contributions), dependent care...

U.S. Supreme Court to review Ninth Circuit's IRS tip "guesstimate" ruling.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Last May, we reported that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals had dealt a blow to the IRS's tip-reporting enforcement efforts. (The Ninth Circuit covers California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and...

IRS issues new failure-to-deposit penalty procedures.
February 7, 2002... The IRS has issued guidance in the form of a new revenue procedure [Rev. Proc. 2001-58; IRB 2001-50, 597] concerning the failure-to-deposit penalties under IRC Sec. 6656. (These penalties are assessed when employers do not deposit accumulated...