With the midterm election officially behind us, small business owners
are taking stock of the next issues at play on the country’s regulatory
front. Paychex, Inc., a leading provider of payroll, human resource,
insurance, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- to medium-sized
businesses, has identified the top three post-election regulatory issues
that small owners should be aware of as Washington prepares to get back
to business – immigration reform, tax reform, and the Marketplace
Fairness Act.
“In the wake of the election, small business owners are keeping an
especially close eye on the regulatory issues that are likely to gain
steam in the weeks and months ahead,” said Martin
Mucci, president and CEO at Paychex. “Paychex is tracking these
topics closely to help business owners understand the potential impact.”
1. Immigration
Reform. Due to congressional impasse on immigration this
year, President Obama vowed to take executive action on the issue. It
was announced in September that the president would hold on issuing any
such order until after the election, but would act before the end of the
year. The Obama administration has not provided specific details about
the potential executive action, but it may include:
-
Temporary relief from deportation for millions of undocumented
immigrants by expanding the pool of family member eligible for legal
status;
-
Offering green cards to science degree Masters and PhD graduates who
have found employment in the United States, or creating a new visa
category for highly skilled immigrants who come to the U.S. to build
businesses;
-
Streamlining the legal immigration system to recapture unused worker
visas, temporarily increase annual visa numbers, or raise or eliminate
existing annual country caps; and
-
Strengthening and improving the technologies and processes which
secure our borders.
2. Tax
Reform. A lack of bipartisan agreement kept comprehensive
tax reform legislation from reaching the president’s desk this year, as
well as more than 50 tax breaks that expired at the end of 2013, also
known as tax extenders. Some tax extenders have been introduced recently
on an individual basis in a way that would make them permanent, allowing
businesses to more effectively plan for future development. These
extenders include:
-
Bonus Depreciation, also known as Accelerated Depreciation.
Bonus Depreciation passed the House of Representatives in July and
allows companies to immediately deduct half the cost of some capital
equipment instead of spreading it out over a number of years.
-
America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act. Similar to Bonus
Depreciation, this Act passed the House of Representatives in June and
allows small businesses to expense up to $500,000 in qualifying
equipment per year, adjusted for inflation.
-
The COMPETE Act. The COMPETE Act was introduced in the U.S.
Senate in July and would make the research and development tax credit
permanent. If passed, the Act would increase the credit rate to 25
percent of qualifying research investments.
3. Marketplace
Fairness Act. The Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA), which
was passed in the Senate in 2013 but stalled in the House, would mandate
that businesses collect and remit sales tax made through online
purchases to states in which the buyer resides, regardless of where the
seller is located. States such as New York, California, Texas, and
Pennsylvania have moved ahead with alternative measures by passing laws
that allow for such a tax to be administered. At the federal level,
Senate Democrats are linking the MFA to an extension of a widely
supported law that bars local taxes on internet access, the Internet Tax
Freedom Act (ITFA). The ITFA was scheduled to expire on November 1, but
was extended to mid-December. If congress cannot reach agreement by the
December deadline and the ITFA expires, state and local municipalities
may begin to tax businesses and individual users via their internet
service providers.
As the nation’s leading provider of payroll and HR services for
America’s small businesses, Paychex monitors the political and
regulatory environment surrounding issues impacting its 580,000 clients
nationwide.
About Paychex
Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) is a leading provider of payroll, human
resource, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- to medium-sized
businesses. The company offers comprehensive payroll services, including
payroll processing, payroll tax administration, and employee pay
services, including direct deposit, check signing, and Readychex®. Human
resource services include 401(k) plan recordkeeping, section 125 plans,
a professional employer organization, time and attendance solutions, and
other administrative services for business. A variety of business
insurance products, including group health and workers' compensation,
are made available through Paychex Insurance Agency, Inc. Paychex was
founded in 1971. With headquarters in Rochester, New York, the company
has more than 100 offices serving approximately 580,000 payroll clients
as of May 31, 2014. For more information about Paychex and our products,
visit www.paychex.com.
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Copyright Business Wire 2014