Federal Contractors and Subcontractors Subject to New Notification Requirements

As of June 21, 2010, federal contractors and subcontractors are now required to inform their employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. Specific actions related to the requirements are described below.

Requirements
Under the rule, federal contractors and subcontracts must: 1) post a notice informing employees of their collective bargaining rights, and 2) include a clause in covered federal contracts, subcontracts and purchase orders requiring their subcontractors to post the employee notice as well.

These new requirements resulted from a final rule issued by the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) in May that implemented President Obama’s Executive Order 13496.

Exceptions and Exemptions
There are exceptions and exemptions from the compliance obligations. For instance, the posting requirements do not apply to prime contracts under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, which is currently set at $100,000; to subcontracts below $10,000; or to contracts where work is performed exclusively outside the United States.

Penalties
Failure to comply with the new posting requirements or employee notice clause requirements could result in contract/subcontract termination or suspension. In addition, the federal contractor or subcontractor may be deemed ineligible for future government contracts.

More Information
For more information on the new notification requirements, visit the Department of Labor’s website at http://www.dol.gov/olms/regs/compliance/EO13496.htm.

Individual Year End Planning

April 15. That’s the date most taxpayers think of as their federal tax deadline.

However, the best date for a taxpayer to focus on is December 31. Why? You always can file an extension to avoid the April 15 deadline; but you can’t move the end of your tax year.

Once December 31 passes, your taxable income, deductions, credits and tax liability for the year are all “set in concrete” with little if any opportunity to change the outcome. As a result, year-end tax planning should form an essential part of your financial strategy. Changes brought about during this year, and forecasts for 2010, make that advice even more compelling for year-end 2009.

Effective year-end tax planning for 2009 combines use of traditional techniques of acceleration and deferral of income/deductions with appropriate responses to a constantly changing tax landscape. Below are various topics that you may want to consider for year-end planning.

Business Year End Planning

The economic slowdown has made 2009 one of the most challenging years in recent memory for many businesses. Many employers are struggling to boost profits, retain customers and develop new products in a sluggish market. The Tax Code can provide some relief. Some year-end tax planning strategies may be able to reduce your tax burden as 2009 draws to a close.