From karen.park at state.or.us Wed Jun 17 11:26:36 2009 From: karen.park at state.or.us (Karen PARK) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:26:36 -0700 Subject: [OSSSA218] Fwd: Headliners & Event Updates from IRS In-Reply-To: <9687ABA174F26649B8F916101422A5BF03BEA8AA@FRS0010CP3MB02.ds.irsnet.gov> References: <9687ABA174F26649B8F916101422A5BF03BEA8AA@FRS0010CP3MB02.ds.irsnet.gov> Message-ID: <4A38D2EB.4CA4.0094.3@PERS.STATE.OR.US> FYI Karen Park Oregon State Social Security Coordinator Oregon PERS 503 603-7633 karen.park at state.or.us SL2 Please note my office hours are Monday thru Thursday 6 am to 4:30 pm >>> "Marshall KayDel D" 6/17/2009 11:21 AM >>> Dear Business Organization: We are pleased to provide you with the latest IRS News Releases and Headliners to distribute to your small business members. We hope that the information will be helpful and we encourage publication in your association's magazines, newsletters, email distributions and/or website. Below are summaries and links to the most recent headliners and news releases your members might be interested in. The title and summary are designed to give you a brief overview of the article's content -- the link to the full article is at the end of each summary. I encourage you to use any or all of these in newsletters or emails to your members, or on your web site. If someone else in your organization is a more appropriate contact point for these types of emails, please let me know. And if you do not want to receive future emails like this one, please reply and request your name be removed. KayDel, KayDel Marshall Senior Stakeholder Liaison Small Business & Self-Employed C/L/D 1220 S.W. 3rd Avenue, Mail Stop O-185 Portland, Oregon 97204 503-326-5240 Phone 503-326-5957 Fax E-Mail: KayDel.Marshall at irs.gov ID #93-10646 Announcements & Upcoming Events: Small Business Can Apply for ARC Loans Beginning June 15 http://www.sba.gov/recovery/arcloanprogram/index.html Starting June 15, SBA will begin accepting loans for a temporary new program called America?s Recovery Capital. ?ARC? loans of up to $35,000 are designed to provide a ?bridge? for viable small businesses with immediate financial hardship ? to keep their doors open until they get back on track. See the full article for information on eligibility, how to apply and more. For information on SBA?s other Recovery Act programs, visit http://www.sba.gov/recovery/index.html. TODAY - East County Small Business Fair June 17, 2009, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Mt. Hood Community College, 323 N.E. Roberts Avenue, Gresham, Oregon. Contact Gerri Raisanen, SBDC Program Assistant, at 503-491-7658 for information. NAVIGATING THE TAX MAZE, Tomorrow is the last one in the 4-PART SERIES FOR NEW BUSINESSES AND EMPLOYERS ON TAXES AND OTHER PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS The Small Business Law Center, along with Worksource Oregon, the Department of Consumer & Business Services, the Social Security Administration, the Oregon Department of Revenue, and the Internal Revenue Service, will be presenting a four-part series for new businesses and employers on taxes and other payroll deductions in May and June. WHERE: Portland Development Commission, 222 NW Fifth Ave. COST: $90 if you sign up for the whole series by May 1. Otherwise, cost is $25 per seminar (in advance); $30 at the door. TIME: 4pm to 7pm Series Dates: May 7th, 2009, Choice of Business Entity and Tax/Payroll; May 21st, 2009, Worker (Mis?) Classification: Independent Contractor or Employee? June 4th, 2009, SSA/IRS Wage Reporting Tips; June 18th, 2009, Combined State Payroll Tax Reporting To register, please go to our website: www.law.lclark.edu/org/sblc/sblc_form.html. Space is limited. Oregon Small Business Forum, Tuesday, August 25, 2009, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon at OAME, 4134 N. Vancouver, Portland, Oregon. Focus Area Topic: "Greening Business for Economy and Ecology" *Don't Forget to Mark Your Calendar Now. Oregon Small Business Fair, September 19, 2009, Oregon Convention Center, Contact Linda Repp for Exhibitor Information at 503-329-4260 or e-mail her at Linda.E.Repp at state.or.us Rogue Valley Business Resource Fair, Saturday, October 3, 2009, 9a.m?2:00 P.M at Rogue Community College, Southern Oregon University Higher Education Center, 312 East 8th Street, Medford, Oregon Contact Ainoura Oussenbec at Ainoura.Oussenbec at state.or.us at or Phone: (541) 776-60 60 ext. 233 IRS Updates & News Releases: Statement of IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=209795,00.html IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman issued a statement regarding rules pertaining to employer-provided cell phones. Secretary Geithner and the Commissioner have asked that Congress act to make clear that there will be no tax consequence to employers or employees for personal use of work-related devices such as cell phones provided by employers. Special Tax Break on New Car Purchases Available in States With No Sales Tax http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=209624,00.html A tax break for the purchase of new motor vehicles is available in states that do not have a state sales tax. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, taxpayers who buy a new motor vehicle this year are entitled to deduct state or local sales or excise taxes paid on the purchase. The IRS and Treasury have determined that purchases made in states without a sales tax ? such as Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon ? can also qualify for the deduction. Taxpayers who purchase a new motor vehicle in states that do not have state sales taxes are entitled to deduct other fees or taxes imposed by the state or local government. The fees or taxes that qualify must be assessed on the purchase of the vehicle and must be based on the vehicle?s sales price or as a per unit fee. According to the IRS, Congress intended for these fees or taxes to qualify for this special tax deduction. To qualify for this deduction, the vehicle must be purchased after Feb. 16, 2009, and before Jan. 1, 2010. Taxpayers can claim this special deduction only on their 2009 tax returns to be filed next year. The deduction is limited to the fees or taxes paid on up to $49,500 of the purchase price of a qualified new car, light truck, motor home or motorcycle. Primary web page for updates to Tax Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204335,00.html?portlet=6 The Recovery web page is also available in Spanish: Informaci?n en Espa?ol -- http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=205057,00.html To see basic information on the ARRA Business Provisions, go here: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=205330,00.html IRS Clarifies Requirement for Filing FBAR Form Due This Month http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=209418,00.html Internal Revenue Service officials announced today that they would allow taxpayers to rely on the definition of a United States person as set forth in the prior instructions to the FBAR form when determining their filing requirement. This announcement affects those preparing for the coming June 30, 2009 deadline. The IRS took this action to reduce burden after concerns and questions were raised regarding the new instructions issued last year on who must file the revised Form TD F 90-22.1 (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, or FBAR). SSA/IRS Reporter Summer Issue Available http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=109886,00.html The summer issue of the SSA/IRS Reporter is now available. Prepared Remarks of IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman Before the Organization For Economic Co-Operation And Development Washington, DC, June 2, 2009 http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=209342,00.html Recent Articles from e-News for Small Businesses More small business video and audio presentations The latest additions on the IRS.gov small business audio/video page include videos on the expanded net operating loss provisions and the COBRA subsidy. Expanded tax credit for businesses hiring unemployed veterans and certain youth Businesses claiming the expanded work opportunity tax credit for hiring eligible unemployed veterans and unskilled young workers during the first part of 2009 have until Aug. 17 to request the state certification for these workers. Related links: IR-2009-55, IRS Offers Tax Credit Guidance to Businesses Hiring Unemployed Veterans and Certain Youth Form 5884, Work Opportunity Credit Form 8850, Pre-Screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity Credit Disaster assistance from IRS IRS.gov has information to help small businesses be prepared in the event of a natural disaster. Related links: Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief for Individuals and Businesses Publication 2194B, Disaster Losses Kit for Businesses Spring issue of Retirement News The spring issue of Retirement News for Employers, a periodic newsletter with retirement plan information for employers and business owners, is now on IRS.gov. IR-2009-57, IRS Launches Tax Return Preparer Review; Recommendations to Improve Compliance Expected by Year End Subscribe to e-News for Small Businesses If you would like to receive e-News for Small Businesses, please visit this link to subscribe: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/content/0,,id=154826,00.html Recommend e-News for Small Businesses If you already receive e-News for Small Businesses, you can share it with a business acquaintance, colleague or employee. Just forward this link to them to view a sample edition and subscribe. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 5253 bytes Desc: not available URL: From karen.park at state.or.us Mon Jun 29 06:37:04 2009 From: karen.park at state.or.us (Karen PARK) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:37:04 -0700 Subject: [OSSSA218] Fwd: National Phone Forum IRS Collection: What Are Your Options? July 15 09 In-Reply-To: <252711D1622F7545835A431B524D020E01C367C5@KAN0010CP3MB01.ds.irsnet.gov> References: <252711D1622F7545835A431B524D020E01C367C5@KAN0010CP3MB01.ds.irsnet.gov> Message-ID: <4A48610D.4CA4.0094.3@PERS.STATE.OR.US> Good morning, Here is another training opportunity. Remember, if you do sign up for this training, pay close attention to the time zones for your time. It's easy to think you've signed up for 10 am when in actuality you've signed up for 7 am pacific time. When registering you must use the six digit conference registration code for the desired time. If looking for CPE's you must register and sign in with your own access. One more note.....when they say sign on early that's important. There have been times when the slots fill up and you can't get on. If this happens try registering for another time slot. Have a great day! Karen Park Oregon State Social Security Coordinator Oregon PERS 503 603-7633 karen.park at state.or.us SL2 Please note my office hours are Monday thru Thursday 6 am to 4:30 pm >>> "*SBSE National Phone Forum" 6/26/2009 9:19 AM >>> Our next National Phone Forum, IRS Collection: What Are Your Options? is scheduled for July 15, 2009 and we hope you?ll be able to join us. Details and registration instructions are below. This topic is particularly important because of the many issues raised by tax professionals and IRS?s actions to address them. We choose the topics for our phone forums based on input from stakeholders like you. We use your feedback, comments and complaints to identify issues that are important to our audience and use the phone forums as one avenue to address them. During the phone forums, you?re more than an observer ? you?re a participant. A question and answer session follows each presentation. If your questions aren?t answered on the spot ? sometimes we need to do some research ? we follow up with a consolidated Q&A by e-mail. And it doesn't end there. We use the Q&A for training purposes, to help our field staff respond when they encounter situations similar to yours. We also use them to determine whether we need to enhance the content on our Web site, IRS.gov, or clarify something in our tax forms and publications. Your participation matters. We sincerely hope you will join us! IRS Stakeholder Liaison presents: National Phone Forum IRS Collection: What Are Your Options? Date: July 15, 2009 Cost: FREE Location: The convenience of your home or office This IRS phone forum is for: ? Tax professionals ? Small Business Organizations ? Payroll providers ? State and local governments Learn about: ? Installment agreements ? Offers in compromise ? Form 1099-OID, Original Issue Discount Abusive Scheme ? What?s new under the COBRA legislation Earn Continuing Professional Education credit ? Enrolled agents receive one CPE credit for a minimum 50-minute participation from the start of the forum. ? Other tax professionals may receive credit if the phone forum meets your organization?s or state?s CPE requirements. ? To receive credit, register individually and use your PIN. ? Call in using your individual phone line so your attendance can be verified ? Look for your Certificate of Completion by e-mail approximately one week after the forum. If you have met all requirements, you will receive your certificate automatically; there?s no need to follow up. ? If you and others in your office do not require a CPE certificate, please have only one person register on the group?s behalf and use your speaker phone to dial in. This will maximize the number of lines available for other participants and help reduce costs. Sign up now for the event of your choice ? Select the time that works best for you Note: Time zones shown are Daylight Savings Time. July 15, 2009 CONFERENCE ACCESS CODEEASTERNCENTRALMOUNTAINPACIFIC 37610210 a.m.9 a.m.8 a.m.7 a.m. 1139911 p.m.Noon11 a.m.10 a.m. 4248634 p.m.3 p.m.2 p.m.1 p.m. ? Register at www.attevent.com. Reservations are limited, so register early. ? You will receive a Personal Identification Number to join the conference. ? If you have never registered with AT&T for a prior phone forum, you will first need to click on create a profile. ? If you require special accommodations (for example, Braille, large print or interpreter services) please contact Brian Finn at nationalphoneforum at irs.gov. ? We will e-mail presentation materials the day before the forum. If you do not receive this e-mail by noon the day before the event, please e-mail us at nationalphoneforum at irs.gov to request the materials. Dial in on July 15, 2009 10:00 a.m. (EDT) 1:00 p.m. (EDT) 4:00 p.m. (EDT) Toll free: 1-800-683-4564 1-866-216-6835 1-800-683-4564 Toll: 1-913-312-2904 1-913-227-1220 1-913-312-2904 ? Dial in at least 5 to 10 minutes before the scheduled time. Those who are first to arrive will be assured participation; when all lines are busy, you will be unable to join the session. ? Enter your access code, then the pound (#) sign. ? Enter your PIN, then the pound (#) sign. ? Your line will be placed on hold until the conference begins. A question and answer period will follow the presentation. However, due to the public nature of the call, we will not be able to address specific client issues. Questions? E-mail nationalphoneforum at irs.gov -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 5253 bytes Desc: not available URL: From karen.park at state.or.us Mon Jun 29 15:50:21 2009 From: karen.park at state.or.us (Karen PARK) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:50:21 -0700 Subject: [OSSSA218] Social Security, PERS and State and local government positions Message-ID: <4A48E2BC.4CA4.0094.3@PERS.STATE.OR.US> Just a short refresher note........... Remember not all State and local government positions are subject to Social Security and Medicare withholdings. In the State of Oregon the majority of positions are covered for both Social Security and Medicare under Section 218 agreements, also known as Voluntary coverage. There are however, some PERS employers who do not have a Section 218 coverage agreement. These employers then fall under Section 210 coverage or Mandatory coverage. Mandatory coverage applies to all positions not covered under Section 218 and those not covered by a retirement system meeting the definition of a retirement system for purposes of Section 210, unless otherwise excluded by Federal Law or optional exclusions. A list of PERS employers which do not hold a Section 218 Social Security modification is attached. I've attached a list of useful links pertaining to State and local government Social Security coverage. Note if you are an employer with employees who are not subject to Social Security withholdings you should have the employees sign a Form SSA-1945 at hire, which is a disclosure form. This form should be kept in the employees file along with being sent to the retirement plan. The State of Oregon has elected to mandatorily exclude the following from their Section 218 agreements. Student employees - Modification 602 Election Officials and Election Workers - Modification 596 The entities holding a Section 218 Modification to the State's Section 218 Agreement have two optional exclusions to chose from at the time of the agreement. 1. All services in any class or classes of elective positions. 2. All services performed by employes working in part-time positions on a retainer basis paid by regular stipend at least monthly. These do not apply to all Section 218 employers. Section 218 Agreements may be requested by calling or sending me an e-mail........503 603-7633 or karen.park at state.or.us Please do not hesitate to call should you have questions. Have a great evening. Karen Park Oregon State Social Security Coordinator Oregon PERS 503 603-7633 karen.park at state.or.us SL2 Please note my office hours are Monday thru Thursday 6 am to 4:30 pm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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