Returning Value Blog

On April 28, 2021, the Biden administration unveiled a $1.8 trillion plan to provide assistance to middle- and low-income families that would be largely funded by tax increases on wealthy Americans. The plan is expected to be fleshed out during President Biden’s first address to a joint session of Congress. 

In May 2021, the Department of Labor withdrew the “Independent Contractor Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” final rule. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, "The DOL has traditionally analyzed a number of factors to consider whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee and looked at 'the totality of the circumstances.' The withdrawn rule would have applied a more-limited economic-reality test."

Small and midsize employers, and certain governmental employers, can claim refundable tax credits that reimburse them for the cost of providing paid sick and family leave to their employees due to COVID-19, including leave taken by employees to receive or recover from COVID-19 vaccinations. These credits are available to eligible employers that paid sick and family leave for leave from April 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021.

Many employees have postponed using their allotted paid time off during the pandemic until COVID-related restrictions are lifted and safety concerns subside. This situation has caused an increase in accruals for certain employers. Here’s some guidance to help evaluate whether your company is required to report a liability for so-called “compensated absences” and, if so, how to estimate the proper amount.

Are you wondering whether alternative energy technologies can help you manage energy costs in your business? If so, there’s a valuable federal income tax benefit (the business energy credit) that applies to the acquisition of many types of alternative energy property.

In December 2020, Richard Jones stepped up as chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). After meeting with stakeholders in early 2021, Jones identified a list of high-priority projects that he plans to tackle under his leadership.

Are you thinking about setting up a retirement plan for yourself and your employees, but you’re worried about the financial commitment and administrative burdens involved in providing a traditional pension plan? Two options to consider are a “simplified employee pension” (SEP) or a “savings incentive match plan for employees” (SIMPLE).

Owners of incorporated businesses know that there’s a tax advantage to taking money out of a C corporation as compensation rather than as dividends. The reason: A corporation can deduct the salaries and bonuses that it pays executives, but not dividend payments. Thus, if funds are paid as dividends, they’re taxed twice, once to the corporation and once to the recipient. Money paid out as compensation is only taxed once — to the employee who receives it.

The tax policy changes proposed by the Biden administration would roll back many of the tax benefits provided by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) enacted at the end of 2017. The most significant proposals include increasing the federal corporate income tax rate to 28% from 21%, raising the top personal income tax rate from 37% back to the pre-TCJA rate of 39.6%, reducing the estate tax exemption threshold, thus bringing more estates within the scope of the federal estate tax, and almost doubling the capital gains tax rates on individuals earning $1 million annually, from 20% to 39.6%. The Biden administration is also considering a phase-out of the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction applicable to both pass-through entities and real estate investment trusts for those deriving income that exceeds a certain threshold ($400,000)—the QBI deduction currently allows eligible taxpayers to deduct up to 20% of pass-through income.

During last year's campaign, then-candidate Joe Biden stated that he would use higher taxes to partially fund various spending priorities if he were elected president. Now that the Democrats control the White House and both the House and Senate, tax increases could be on the horizon. Details of the Biden administration's proposed tax changes are gradually coming into focus, and on March 31, President Biden unveiled his infrastructure spending plan, which will be funded in part by an increase in the corporate tax rate to 28%.