Now that the elections are over, members of Congress will be forced to return to work and deal with unfinished business. To help business administrators with small enterprises sort out what to keep an eye on, Paychex has released a list of the top three post-election regulatory issues that are likely to see some action in the coming weeks.
The first: immigration reform.
Paychex notes that President Obama promised executive action on immigration reform due to Congress's inability to make any headway in key reform areas. Paychex says the following matters may be subject to such executive action:
- Expansion of the pool of family member eligible for legal residency status. This would grant temporary relief from deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants;
- Expansion of green card eligibility through the offer of cards to science degree Masters and PhD graduates currently employed in the U.S., and perhaps the creation of a new visa category for highly skilled;
- Streamlining the legal immigration system to recapture unused worker visas, temporarily increase annual visa numbers, or raise or eliminate existing annual country caps;
- Further securing U.S. borders through the increased use of advanced technologies and revised processes.
See also: Impasse on immigration reform frustrates employers
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The second: Tax reform
Myriad tax reform and revision measures were mired in bipartisan wrangling. Paychex says in addition to reform legislation, more than 50 "tax extenders" (tax breaks that expired at the end of last year) are awaiting resuscitation. These extenders include:
- Bonus Depreciation, also known as Accelerated Depreciation, allows companies to immediately deduct half the cost of some capital equipment instead of spreading it out over a number of years. It passed the House in July.
- America's Small Business Tax Relief Act, which gives small businesses the opportunity to expense up to $500,000 in qualifying equipment per year, adjusted for inflation, passed the House in June.
- The COMPETE Act, which would make the research and development tax credit permanent and increase the rate to 25 percent of qualifying research investments, was introduced into the Senate last summer.
The third: The Marketplace Fairness Act
The MFA would require businesses to collect and remit sales tax made through online purchases to states in which the buyer resides. It passed the Senate in 2013 but stalled in the House. Paychex says 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.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
