August 8, 2011 at 5:20 pm
USI Payroll would like to congratulate Janet Noto for winning the 3rd Quarter 2011 Compliment Character Award. We recieved many nominations from our clients this quarter and Janet was chosen as the winner by our USI team. Below is the nomination we recieved from his employer, Pete Gasca with Wild Creations.
“When dealing with live animals (little frogs in our case), one often has to address the concerns of a frog owner or, more uncomfortably, a parent of a frog owner who has unfortunately had to deal with the loss of their dear family pet. When fielding these calls, an intense amount of sensitivity and selflessness is required. Janet is not only adept at handling these calls, she is highly receptive and truly empathetic, and demonstrates this with incredible grace. In addition to dealing with numerous daily tasks involved with her job, she still finds the resolve to set aside work frustrations to cordially handle these customer service issues.”
The character trait chosen to represent her was:
Alertness: Being aware of what is taking place around me so I can have the right responses.
Congratulations to Janet Noto for winning this award. We appreciate her example of good character in her workplace and in our community!
Categories: Compliment Character Award.
July 1, 2011 at 9:44 pm
FUTA Surtax Set to Expire June 30
The 0.2% Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) surtax is set to expire on June 30, 2011. The permanent gross FUTA tax rate is 6.0%. The 0.2% surtax was added in 1976 and has been in effect since then. The last time it was extended was from January 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011, under the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. Before expiration of the 0.2% surtax, the net FUTA tax employers pay after taking credit for up to 5.4% of state unemployment taxes paid is 0.8%. After expiration, the net FUTA rate will be reduced to 0.6% on FUTA taxable wages paid beginning July 1, 2011 (0.8% – 0.2% = 0.6%).
At this time, we know of no plans in the U.S. Congress to push legislation through to extend the surtax before it expires. However, it is possible the surtax will be extended retroactively as part of legislation to increase the federal government’s debt ceiling before it is reached on August 2, 2011, as part of comprehensive unemployment insurance reform efforts, or as part of a tax extender bill later this year.
With the surtax expiring, USI Payroll will separately track FUTA taxable wages paid before July 1, and FUTA taxable wages paid after June 30. It is expected that Form 940 for 2011 would be revised to require separate reporting of wages subject to the surtax and those not subject to the surtax. With no surtax in effect for the third quarter of 2011, employers may determine their FUTA tax liability and deposit requirement for the quarter based on a net FUTA rate of 0.6%. Because of the possibility of a retroactive extension, however, employers may consider it prudent to continue to accrue FUTA tax at a rate of 0.8% until the third quarter FUTA deposit is due on October 31.
Categories: Payroll Administration.
