[OSSSA218] Fwd: Event Updates and Headliners - Mid Month

Wed Feb 16 06:22:13 PST 2011

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

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE: All information in this email, including attachments, is approved solely for delivery to and authorized use by intended recipients. Use, dissemination, distribution, or reproduction of this message and/or any of its attachments by unintended recipients is not authorized and may be unlawful. If  you are not an intended recipient of this message or an authorized assistant to an intended recipient, please notify the sender by replying to this message and then delete it from your system. 

>>> "Marshall KayDel D" <KayDel.Marshall at irs.gov> 2/15/2011 2:34 PM >>>

Dear Business Organization:

Here are the latest IRS News Releases and Headliners to distribute to your small business members.  I 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. 

Taxpayer Assistance Center New Location can be found in our new building at 100 S.W. Main on the 13th Floor where you can get forms and publications, file returns, and get tax questions answered in person.  The building is at the foot of the Hawthorne Bridge near our old building.

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
100 S.W. Main Street, Suite 1200
Portland, Oregon 97204 
503-415-7141 Phone 
503-415-7217 Fax 
E-Mail: KayDel.Marshall at irs.gov 
ID #1000843166

Announcements & Upcoming Events:   

New Regional Advocate for SBA Encourages Business Owners to Speak Up
Jennifer Clark is the Small Business Administration’s Regional Advocate for Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.  It is her job to make sure the voice of small business from the Pacific Northwest is heard back in Washington, DC. That involves building awareness in the region of the regulatory issues that will be impacting small business and then making sure the small business community has the opportunity to share its concerns about the rules that affect its interests.  President Obama issued an Executive Order in January requiring all federal agencies to review existing and proposed regulations to determine their relevance, identify opportunities for streamlining, and reduce barriers to economic growth.  Federal agencies must consider the impact of new regulations on small business, give them an opportunity to comment as regulations are being proposed, they are required to be flexible when considering regulations and to look for alternatives when the regulation creates an excessive burden on small business, and review existing regulations to make sure they are still relevant. The rules being considered by various Federal agencies, along with how to comment on those rules can be found at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home.  You are encouraged to submit your comments directly to the appropriate agency as your input will amplify the voice of the small business community and may factor into the priority order in which the regulations are reviewed. You may contact Jennifer at Jennifer.Clark at sba,gov.

FREE Small Business Health Care Credit Webinar Rescheduled to February 16, 2011.   Participants who registered for the event have been notified directly via e-mail. Registered participants do not need to re-register for the new air date. Folks not registered already, but who want to now, due to the date change, can go to: http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=75575.
For those who can not view the event on Feb.16: The event will be archived for later viewing, approximately two weeks after the date of the event, on the new IRS Video Portal.  Check it out now for lots of free educational videos for small business.  Add this to your favorites on your computer.

Employee Plans Technical Guidance Phone Forum - March 4, 2011
Ingrid Grinde, Manager, Group 1, and Rhonda Migdail, Manager, Group 2, EP Technical Guidance and Quality Assurance, to do an hour-long update on guidance issued by Employee Plans. This presentation will focus on items of recently published guidance as well as updates on current IRS initiatives in which EP is involved, such as the governmental and international initiatives. If you have a specific issue that you would like the speakers to address, please let us know via e-mail at ep.phoneforum at irs.gov on or before February 25, 2011.
Conference Access CodeRegisterEasternCentralMountainPacific
582088Register2:00 p.m.1:00 p.m.12:00 p.m.11:00 a.m.

Register at:  https://www.attevent.com/rsvpreg.asp?PPass=582088  
You will be assigned a Personal Identification Number (PIN) that must be used to join the conference. 
If you have never registered with AT&T phone forum, you will need to click on "create a profile" first. 

BBB Secure Your ID Day -  Saturday, April 16, 2011
Unitus Community Credit Union, Beaverton Branch,10580 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy, Beaverton, OR 97005 View Map, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Gather up your unwanted documents and take advantage of this FREE shredding service. Drive up and drop off up to three (3) grocery bags or boxes of unwanted documents. No cardboard or three-ring binders, please. Items will be securely shredded on-the-spot!  Everyone is invited to join your Better Business Bureau to raise awareness about identity theft prevention. Our goal is to raise awareness of the importance of safeguarding personal information and keeping sensitive documents out of the wrong hands.

OAME 23rd Annual Trade Show & Luncheon Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at the Oregon Convention Center in Hall D.  The tradeshow will host more than 120 small and large businesses, state, county and federal government agencies and business development resources to help minority, women and emerging small businesses grow.  For registration, exhibit and luncheon information, and reservations, contact the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs (OAME) at 503-249-7744 or at www.oame.org.  Tradeshow admission is free and luncheon tickets are $65 per person (for more information please visit Luncheon Information).  
A Silent Auction will be held during Conference & Trade Show.

Program outline:
Trade Show 10:00AM - 3:00PM
Reception 11:30AM - 12:00PM
Lunch 12:00PM - 1:30PM (Trade Show closed during luncheon)

Oregon Small Business Forum August 23, 2011 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon at the Oregon Association for Minority Entrepreneurs (OAME), 4134 N.Vancouver, Portland, Oregon.  The focus area topic chosen for this FREE August Forum is, "Knowing HR Compliance Issues to Stay Out of Trouble,"  including such issues as BOLI requirements, Benefits Compliance, Law Changes, and Employee vs. Independent Contractor.  As always, the focus area topic is followed by an informal roundtable discussion where the agencies present will have an opportunity to explain the services and products they have available to enhance the success of small business in Oregon.  Mark your calendars now to reserve this date.

Oregon Small Business Fair, September 24, 2011, Ambridge Event Center, 1333 NE MLK Blvd, Portland, Oregon 97232.  NOTE: Venue has changed/No longer at Oregon Convention Center.    This is a FREE event for new and start up small business with exhibitor booths and four workshops each hour throughout the day. For exhibitor or other information, contact Linda.E.Repp at state.or.us.   Thursday, February 10, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Mercy Corps Northwest  has several small business trainings coming up.  Check at  it out at:   http://www.mercycorpsnw.org/what-we-do/classes-and-events/

IRS Updates & News Releases:

Important Tax Law Changes for 2010
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=120227,00.html
Taxpayers should make sure they are aware of many important changes to the tax law before they complete their 2010 federal income tax return.  See the full article for several important changes that the IRS wants you to keep in mind when you file your 2010 federal income tax return in 2011, including the self-employed health insurance deduction, first-time homebuyer credit, standard mileage rates, and several tax breaks that expired at the end of 2009 that were renewed and can be claimed on 2010 returns.

IRS Begins Processing Tax Forms Affected by Late Tax Changes; Taxpayers can e-File Immediately
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=236037,00.html
The Internal Revenue Service has started processing individual tax returns affected by legislation enacted in December and reminded taxpayers that they can begin filing electronically immediately.  On Monday, IRS systems began to accept and process both e-file and paper tax returns claiming itemized deductions on Form 1040, Schedule A, as well as deductions for state and local sales tax, higher education tuition and fees and educator expenses.

“The IRS is now accepting all the 1040 forms,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. “We worked hard to update our systems and get the changes in place as quickly as possible. We appreciate the patience of those impacted by the delay. We urge taxpayers to use e-file with direct deposit, and they can get their refunds within days.”

Free File: Do Your Federal Taxes for Free
http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html?portlet=6
Taxpayers can do their taxes for free through Free File, which is brand-name software or online fillable forms. Free File is available exclusively at www.irs.gov/freefile.  Anyone who makes $58,000 or less can use Free File software. There are no income limits to online fillable forms. Both Free File software and Free File Fillable Forms allow taxpayers to prepare and e-file their federal returns for free. Some also support state tax returns.  

Now You Can Follow IRS on Twitter Special Edition Tax Tip 2010-14 December 7, 2010
The Internal Revenue Service is using Twitter and other social media tools to share information with taxpayers and the tax professional community.
The IRS Twitter news feed, @IRSnews, provides the latest federal tax news and information for taxpayers. The focus of the IRS Twitter messages will be on easy-to-use information, including tax tips, tax law changes, and important IRS programs such as e-file, the Earned Income Tax Credit and “Where’s My Refund." Anyone with a Twitter account can follow @IRSnews by going to http://twitter.com/IRSnews
The IRS also tweets tax news and information in Spanish at @IRSenEspanol. Follow this Twitter feed by going to http://twitter.com/IRSenEspanol.
The IRS Twitter feeds will work in conjunction with http://www.irs.gov and the IRS YouTube channels to bring IRS information direct to taxpayers. Since August of 2009, there have been more than 1 million views of videos on the IRSvideos ( http://www.youtube.com/irsvideo), IRS Multilingual (http://www.youtube.com/user/IRSvideosmultilingua) and IRS American Sign Language (ASL) ( http://www.youtube.com/IRSvideosASL) channels.
In addition to Twitter and YouTube, the IRS provides additional social media tools to inform and assist taxpayers.

Why Employees and Retirees May See Changes in 2011 Payments and Withholding
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=235813,00.html
The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010, enacted on December 17, 2010, included several changes impacting workers’ take-home pay and retirees’ net pension checks for 2011. The Tax Relief Act extended for two years the income tax rates that were scheduled to expire at the end of 2010; that extension prevented a large increase in federal income tax withholding.  However, the new law did not extend the Making Work Pay (MWP) credit that had been available for tax years 2009 and 2010. While most workers qualified for the maximum MWP credit, pension recipients did not qualify for any MWP credit unless they also had wages or other earned income.

In December 2010, the IRS published new federal income tax withholding information to reflect the impact of the Tax Relief Act. The fact that the MWP credit expired, by itself, would have resulted in increased withholding for most taxpayers. However, under the Tax Relief Act, withholding for social security tax for all wage earners was reduced from 6.2% to 4.2% (withholding for Medicare, at 1.45%, did not change). For most employees, the net effect of these two changes will result in less total tax being withheld from their checks. The social security tax reduction does not affect pension payments.

Due to the late enactment of these tax law changes, the IRS asked employers and plan administrators to adjust their systems as soon as possible but not later than January 31, 2011. This means employees and pension recipients may not have seen the full impact of these changes until their first paycheck in February, 2011.

Once employers implement the changes, there will be a net increase in take-home pay for most employees (excluding the impact of any other withholding amounts, such as withholding for health insurance, state income taxes, etc.).  Once pension plan administrators implement the 2011 changes, the retirement check payments for some pensioners may be lower depending upon the method that their plan administrators used to calculate withholding in 2010.  

Second Special Voluntary Disclosure Initiative Opens; Those Hiding Assets Offshore Face Aug. 31 deadline
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=235695,00.html
The Internal Revenue Service announced today a special voluntary disclosure initiative designed to bring offshore money back into the U.S. tax system and help people with undisclosed income from hidden offshore accounts get current with their taxes. The new voluntary disclosure initiative will be available through Aug. 31, 2011. The IRS decision to open a second special disclosure initiative follows continuing interest from taxpayers with foreign accounts. The first special voluntary disclosure program closed with 15,000 voluntary disclosures on Oct. 15, 2009. Since that time, more than 3,000 taxpayers have come forward to the IRS with bank accounts from around the world. These taxpayers will also be eligible to take advantage of the special provisions of the new initiative.

IRS FY 2012 Budget Proposal Summary
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=235959,00.html
The Administration’s FY 2012 budget request for the Internal Revenue Service is nearly $13.3 billion, a $1.1 billion increase from the FY 2010 budget. Because of the IRS’s unique function as the revenue center of government, this budget increase actually reduces the deficit through increased tax enforcement revenues.  In FY 2010, the IRS collected $2.345 trillion in taxes, representing 93 percent of federal government receipts. The IRS processed 141 million individual tax returns in 2010 and issued 109.5 million in refunds worth $366 billion. The IRS 2012 funding request reflects a continued commitment to balance taxpayer service with fair enforcement of the tax laws. The IRS will also continue to invest in its service program, with particular emphasis on online services.  At the same time, the IRS continues to run a disciplined operation, identifying more than $188 million in cost-savings in 2012, coming on top of similar efficiency savings in 2010 and 2011.

Recent Articles from e-News for Small Businesses

Audio file of recordkeeping phone forum available
The IRS national phone forum on recordkeeping is now available as an audio file. 
Related link: Recordkeeping  

Order tax transcripts online
Taxpayers can use the new online tool, Order A Transcript, to request a current year transcript as well as transcripts for the past three years. 
Related link: Copies & Transcripts  

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.

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