Blog

Germany Publishes FATCA Infobrief for Start of Filing Season

The German BZSt (Tax Office) has published an Infobrief to address some final matters before the start of this year’s FATCA filing season. The BZSt online portal will be available for FATCA transmittals beginning on June 19. Both mass data interface (ELMA) and manual data entry will be operational from this date forward. However, the […]

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California Publishes Updated Electronic Funds Transfer Bulk Filer Setup Guide

California recently released an updated version of Publication DE-154, Electronic Funds Transfer Bulk Filer Setup Guide. The purpose of this guide is to provide instruction for payroll agents who use the ACH Debit method to electronically pay the Payroll Tax Deposit using Form DE-88. This publication also provides detailed information on formatting files to submit […]

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House Passes Bill Affecting Advance Premium Tax Credit

Earlier this week, the House of Representatives passed the Verify First Act – which would serve as an amendment to the premium tax credit under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and to the premium assistance credit under the proposed American Health Care Act (AHCA). The bill provides that an individual is not entitled to advance […]

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How to Reduce Risk in Today’s Regulatory Environment

An Interview with Sovos President and CEO Andy Hovancik As governments around the world turn to technology to close tax and regulatory loopholes and address the revenue collections challenges of revenue, businesses are finding it harder to keep up with today’s more complex regulatory environment. The ever-increasing pace and complexity of tax compliance and business-to-government […]

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Should Tax Information Reporting Be on Cruise Control for Summer?

Now that the sting of winter tax season has passed, teams charged with tax information reporting obligations have returned to business as usual. With several months until next tax season, many companies take a vacation from 10-Series reporting processes during summer, but this traditionally seasonal process is ripe for a new approach. The IRS recently […]

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1099 Updates: June 1-12, 2017

Regulatory and legislative updates to 1099 form requirements that took place in recent weeks. Individual states and the IRS introduce new 1099 form requirements and changes to existing legislation on a frequent basis. The Sovos Regulatory Analysis team continually monitors and documents each of these updates in our Regulatory Feed.  Here are several recently updated […]

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Maine Releases 2018 File Formatting Specifications for Quarterly Withholding Transmittals

Maine Revenue Services has made available the draft versions of the 2018 MEETRS File Formatting Specifications for Electronic Transmittal of Quarterly Income Tax Withholding. There are sets of specifications for both original filings and amended filings – which will become effective the first quarter of 2018. There are certain revisions to the specifications of which […]

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California Releases Updated Version of Quarterly Contribution Return and Report of Wages (Form DE-9)

California recently released an updated version of Form DE-9, the Quarterly Contribution Return and Report of Wages. This form is issued by the Employment Development Department, and is used by employers in California to report wages and withholdings on a quarterly basis.  This new version makes no changes to the form itself. However, the instructions […]

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Senate Leadership Invokes Rule to Fast-Track Healthcare Legislation

Senate negotiations regarding the fate of the American Health Care Act are continuing in spite of the discord among and between Democrats and Republicans on a number of provisions in the bill. Much of the roadblocks at this point are procedural in nature regarding the Reconciliation rules. A failure to comply with Reconciliation requirements would […]

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Isle of Man Releases AEOI Industry Advisory Notice

The Isle of Man recently issued an AEOI Industry Advisory Notice.  Therein, the Treasury reminded filers that FATCA and CRS reporting will be due June 30.  The notice also stated that filing entities should be registered to file by June 21.  Doing so after that date might not allow the Treasury enough time to complete […]

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ACA Compliance Validation System Delayed Until May 2017

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) recently announced the delay of the ACA Compliance Validation (ACV) System, which is now expected to be implemented in May 2017. Employers should be aware that this delay does not impact their reporting obligations and potential liabilities for penalties. The ACV system’s purpose is to determine compliance […]

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House Passes American Health Care Act with Amendments

The amended American Health Care Act (AHCA) passed by the House expanded upon the prior version, but made certain adjustments providing individual states more flexibility in shaping and regulating their own insurance markets. The new bill also appropriates $8 billion over five years to subsidize coverage for pre-existing conditions in an attempt to offset the fiscal impacts of permitting […]

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AHCA would both Expand and Simplify Current Reporting Requirements

If the American Health Care Act (AHCA) becomes law, the IRS would expect employers to report as they did under the ACA. The IRS would also continue to enforce penalties for late, missing, inaccurate and incomplete information returns. Even with the bill’s nullification of Employer Mandate penalties, reporting would remain mandatory in its current form […]

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Rep. MacArthur Proposes Amendment to AHCA Allowing State Waivers

Congressman Tom MacArthur has authored an amendment to the American Health Care Act (AHCA) that would provide greater flexibility to states by allowing them to request waivers from any of three key AHCA provisions: The 5:1 Age Rating Ratio: The age rating ratio, which is already being increased from 3:1 to 5:1, will be subject […]

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American Health Care Act Would Maintain Employer Reporting Requirements

Proposed ACA replacement legislation, entitled the American Health Care Act (AHCA), aims to dismantle the employer mandate by zeroing out the associated penalties. Despite this, the AHCA maintains both employer and insurer reporting requirements. There are seven high-level changes to the current law that the AHCA will seek to impose: Nullify Individual Mandate Penalties Nullify […]

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Curacao FATCA Testing Period Opens Late, Deadline to Be Delayed

The Curacao Financial Data Exchange Portal is now open for the FATCA XML file testing period. The testing period, which was originally scheduled to begin on May 29, was delayed due to technical difficulties. As such, the data delivery functionality and reporting deadlines will also be delayed to dates which will be determined at a […]

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Cyprus Opens Data Transmission Portal and Releases FATCA Specifications

The Cypriot Ministry of Finance has announced that its Government Internet Security Channel is now open for the acceptance of FATCA and CRS XML files containing tax year 2016 data. The reporting process consists of the following steps: Subscribe to the Internet Security Channel if you are not already registered Register to the FATCA/CRS/DAC2 service […]

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Rhode Island Removes Annual Reporting Frequency for Employer Withholding Tax

Rhode Island recently updated their reporting frequency schedule to exclude the annual reporting frequency. The update to the 2017 Employer’s Income Tax Withholding Tables and the removal of Form RI-941A from the Department of Revenue website confirm that filers previously on an annual reporting schedule must switch to one of the remaining reporting schedules – […]

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