COBRA Subsidy Extension Means More Work for Employers
In December of 2009, Congress and the President approved an extension and expansion of a COBRA premium subsidy law that was due to expire on December 31, 2009. The program now runs through February 28, 2010, rather than December 31, 2009, and the subsidy period is expanded from nine to 15 months. Additionally, there is no requirement that COBRA coverage begin by February 28, 2010, only that the COBRA qualifying event (involuntary termination of employment) occurs by February 28, 2010, and that the individual is eligible for COBRA coverage.
With this extension come new compliance obligations for employers. For example, employers must comply with new notice requirements regarding the extension that must be met quickly. As the United States Department of Labor outlines in its FAQs, plan administrators must provide, as part of the COBRA election notice materials, a General Notice to all qualified beneficiaries, not just covered employees, who experience a qualifying event at any time from September 1, 2008 through February 28, 2010, regardless of the type of qualifying event. For qualifying events occurring after the December 19, 2009 date of enactment, this notice must be provided within the normal timeframe for providing a COBRA election notice. Some beneficiaries will be entitled to multiple notices.
Employers will also need to calculate any overpayments for COBRA beneficiaries who may have paid their full premiums upon receiving notice that their eligibility for the pre-extension subsidy ran out. Upon calculation of the overpayments, employers will have to decide either to issue refund checks to the beneficiaries or to offset future COBRA premium payments by the amount of the overpayment.
For more information on the notice requirements, as well as additional facts regarding the COBRA subsidy extension in general, please visit:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-cobra-premiumreductionEE.html and
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/fscobrapremiumreduction.html.
As always, feel free to call the attorneys at Wright Penning & Beamer as well.
Julie Pfitzenmaier
“Real property” is land, and includes any buildings that are on the land, things that are permanently attached to the land and things that are permanently attached to the buildings. “Personal property” is anything that is not permanently attached to land or to a building. (Think in terms of machinery used by a business, furniture, equipment, and so on.) The State of Michigan taxes the personal property of businesses, but the personal property of individuals and charitable institutions is not taxed. And, even for businesses, some categories of personal property are exempt from taxation.
Taxpayers should then receive their assessment notice from their local assessor by March 1, but, in any event, by no later than ten (10) days before the March meeting of the local board of review. Any disputes must first be appealed to the local board of review at its March meeting. If not satisfied with that outcome, the taxpayer can file an appeal with the Michigan Tax Tribunal. Typically, that appeal must be filed by no later than May 31 of the assessment year. In some situations, the rules of the State Tax Commission and/or the Michigan Tax Tribunal may allow a direct appeal, without first going to the local board of review.
If you are a business and you haven’t already received your personal property statement, you will. It needs to be completed and in the hands of the local assessor by no later than February 20. (Since February 20 is a Saturday this year, you actually have until Monday, February 22.) You will then receive the notice of your assessment in early March. Examine that notice carefully. If you dispute the classification of property or the assessment, the first step is the timely filing of an appeal with the local board of review. If you don’t file that appeal in a timely fashion, the right to dispute the assessment may be lost. The attorneys at Wright Penning & Beamer are here to help in any way we can.