›HEADLINES

NEW MAINE TAX CHANGES - Find out about Governor Baldacci’s recent law, “An Act to Implement Tax Relief and Tax Reform”. The major change here is the replacement of Maine’s current individual tax rate structure, personal exemptions and itemized deductions with a 6.5% flat tax. Along with the income tax changes, there are some revenue raising provisions that are of particular interest to companies in the construction industry. For more, click here

FOR OUR TELCO CLIENTS - FCC RELEASES NEW LOCAL NUMBER PORTABILITY RULES The FCC recently released an Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which ordered the local number porting period decreased to one day, down from the prior four day maximum. Unless you have existing software and facilities already in place to comply with this order, you will likely need to update software and equipment in order to comply.

The FCC has directed the North American Numbering Council (NANC) to make recommendations on various LNP implementation issues within 90 days of the May 13th order. Once the FCC has these recommendations, then small carriers will have 15 months to implement the one day porting interval; larger carriers (by SBA definition, having over 1500 employees) will have 9 months to implement the Order. For more, click here

ANALYSIS OF HITECH PROVISIONS IN THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) signed into law by President Obama in February 2009 is a powerful notice to the healthcare industry to move past differing opinions and increase the use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs). For more, click here.

OUTSOURCING STUDENT EMAIL College and university administrators have been discussing the pros and cons of outsourcing student e-mail for years. For more, click here.

PCI COMPLIANCE FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION It may be a stretch to think of a university or college environment as anything akin to a shopping mall. But just consider all the ways your “shoppers”—either on campus or online—use payment cards and, well, you may quickly realize you have more in common with the Gap and Old Navy than you thought. For more, click here.

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR OR EMPLOYEE? Worker classification has become an area of focus for the IRS and, with its potential liability being considerable your company should ensure that workers are properly classified. For more, click here.

403 (b) RETIREMENT PLANS GET EXTENSION. The IRS issued a notice on December 11, 2008 announcing relief for 403 (b) plans that do not have a written plan in place by January 1, 2009. For more, click here.

RED FLAG RULE COMPLIANCE IN HEALTH CARE. For a high level overview of the Red Flag Rules and a time line to prepare for the compliance deadline of May 2009, click here.

"IS THE FIRST CUT THE DEEPEST?" During tough times comes opportunities to make real change, but that change needs to be planned and executed properly so that the intended benefits are realized long-term. Operating expenses are getting pared to the bone. Capital projects are being put on hold. In times of shrinking resources, it is not uncommon to cut costs first and ask questions later. In the higher education environment, cost cutting has risen rapidly to the top of the "to do" list at most institutions. As a result, information technology leaders are in the unique position of not just doing their part to look at expense reduction, but also identifying what technology can do to improve efficiency without significant investment. For more, click here.

2008 ENERGY-RELATED TAX INCENTIVES. For more, click here.

AMT RELIEF AND MORE. Included in the recent financial bailout package are some substantial tax changes affecting individuals, corporations, and businesses. For more, click here.

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES: Understanding the Impact of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). A 2008 survey conducted by ACUTA, the Association for Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education indicates that a growing number of colleges and universities have signed on to VoIP technology. More than half the schools surveyed (62 percent) said that they plan to expand their VoIP networks within the next 18 months, while another 14 percent had long-term plans, which means that fully three-quarters of schools that have begun the transition to VoIP are planning to expand usage of the application on their campus in the coming months and years. For more, click here.

Section 409A DEADLINE EXTENDED ONCE AGAIN. The Treasury Department and IRS issued Notice 2007-86 extending the Section 409A general transition relief deadline. For more, click here.

IRS RESUMES ISSUING TAXPAYER DELINQUENCY INVESTIGATION NOTICES FOR FORMS 5500 and 5500EZ. Taxpayer delinquency investigation notices will be mailed to employers that have failed to timely file Forms 5500 and 5500EZ for plan year ending December 31, 2004. For more, click here.

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A TAX DEDUCTION IN MANUFACTURING, SOME CONSTRUCTION AND CERTAIN OTHER PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES OCCURRING IN THE U.S. Read more.

USE-IT OR LOSE-IT
Your cafeteria plan could become even better! The “use-it or lose-it” rule affecting benefits an employee receives under the flexible spending account portions of the plan (i.e., medical and dependent care reimbursement accounts) has been modified. Read more about the Cafeteria Plan rule modification here.

ARE YOU CONSIDERING USING DERIVATIVE CONTRACTS TO HEDGE BUSINESS RISKS? Go here for more.