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Current Newsletter Articles
Maryland Unemployment Insurance Tax Set to Triple for Businesses
The state’s unemployment insurance tax will more than triple — at a
minimum — for Maryland businesses come Jan. 1, the Department of
Labor, Licensing and Regulation said Thursday.
Nonprofits and companies that have not laid off anyone in recent years
will be billed $187 per employee, up from $51 per employee this year,
said Liz Williams, a spokeswoman for DLLR. The tax could be much
heftier for Maryland employers that have let workers go in the past
three years, as mandated by state law.
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the article
Cash for Clunkers Program
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced cost-of-living adjustments
applicable to dollar limitations for pension plans and other items for Tax Year
2010. Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code provides for dollar limitations on
benefits and contributions under qualified retirement plans. Section 415(d) requires
that the Commissioner annually adjust these limits for cost-of-living increases.
Other limitations applicable to deferred compensation plans are also affected by
these adjustments under Section 415. Under Section 415(d), the adjustments are to
be made pursuant to adjustment procedures which are similar to those used to adjust
benefit amounts under Section 215(i)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act. The limitations
that are adjusted by reference to Section 415(d) will remain unchanged for 2010.
This is because the cost-of-living index for the quarter ended September 30, 2009,
is less than the cost-of-living index for the quarter ended September 30, 2008,
and, following the procedures under the Social Security Act for adjusting benefit
amounts, any decline in the applicable index cannot result in a reduced limitation.
For example, the limitation under Section 402(g)(1) on the exclusion for elective
deferrals described in Section 402(g)(3) will be $16,500 for 2010, which is the
same amount as for 2009. This limitation affects elective deferrals to Section 401(k)
plans and to the Federal Government’s Thrift Savings Plan, among other plans
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the article
Legislative Update
The 2010 Session of the Maryland
General Assembly will commence on
January 13, 2010 and will adjourn on
April 12, 2010. What can we expect from
this last Session before the general
election the following November? Which
issues will dominate the debate of
Maryland lawmakers? Are there issues
which may have a particular impact on
the accounting industry?
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the article
Health bill to include ‘opt-out’ public option
The Senate will vote on a health care reform bill that will include government-
run plans in new insurance exchanges, unless states choose not to offer a
public option. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Monday
afternoon that he had decided to include a public option, with a state opt-out
provision, after consulting with Democratic senators and the White House.
There is “strong consensus to move forward in this direction,” Reid said. The
public option is “not a silver bullet,” but it will ensure competition in the health
insurance market, he said.
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the article
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