Transfers of real property to certain qualifying entities will no longer be subject to real estate excise tax in Washington State, effective on January 1, 2023.

Perkins Coie is pleased to present the third edition of Labor Law Today —Year in Review, highlighting the past year’s most noteworthy developments.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) includes a 100% federal subsidy of COBRA premiums (including the up-to-2% administrative fees) during the period of April 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021. Earlier this week, EBSA published clarifying FAQs and model notices related to the COBRA subsidy. This update discusses the guidance most relevant to employers and highlights areas where additional guidance is still needed.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) includes a number of provisions requiring immediate action by employers.

This update examines in detail each form of multiemployer pension plan relief under the ARPA, as well as potential impacts of the ARPA on employers participating in underfunded multiemployer pension plans.

Much of the previous relief that had been granted to cafeteria plans during the COVID-19 pandemic was set to expire after 2020.

Perkins Coie is pleased to present the second edition of Labor Law Today —Year in Review, highlighting the past year’s most noteworthy developments.

President Donald Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Omnibus Bill) on December 27, 2020.

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, on December 21, 2020, approved H.R. 133, referred to as the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.”

After much political gridlock, Congress passed an omnibus government-spending bill (Appropriations Act), which includes another COVID-19 relief package.

Employee benefits professionals have faced many challenges in 2020.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intends to audit hundreds of high net worth individuals and their related entities starting this month.

The Seattle City Council passed a bill creating a new payroll tax on persons engaged in business in Seattle. While the ordinance has not yet been signed by the mayor (as of publication), the tax was passed by the council on July 6, 2020, by a veto-proof majority (7-2) and is expected to become law effective January 1, 2021.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a final rule establishing a new “safe harbor” method for satisfying ERISA and DOL’s requirements for electronic distribution of certain ERISA-governed retirement plan documents.

Many employers have sought to leverage or make changes to their employer-sponsored benefits to address economic and health-related burdens faced by their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued revised model general and election notices on Friday, May 1, 2020.

Many employee benefit plan sponsors, administrators, and fiduciaries have been asking about regulatory relief in response to administrative challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oregon and Washington share a border, but their tax systems have historically been diametrically opposite. Oregon has corporate and personal net income taxes, but no sales tax; Washington has a B&O tax, or gross receipts tax, and a sales tax, but no net income taxes. That changed with Oregon’s adoption of its CAT, effective January 1.

In response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) has taken additional actions intended to provide immediate relief to taxpayers.

In response to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. Congress, the executive branch, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have taken several actions intended to provide immediate relief to taxpayers.

Recognizing the high volume of COVID-19 content being published, Perkins Coie developed a one-stop, integrated resource page that addresses key legal and business considerations for companies across essential business areas, from insurance coverage and labor and employment, to privacy and security, corporate governance, tax, construction, supply chain, and more.

In response to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the U.S. Congress, the Executive Branch, and the Internal Revenue Service have taken several actions intended to provide immediate relief to taxpayers, including by postponing federal income tax return and tax payment deadlines, providing businesses with tax credits to the extent that such businesses are subject to new paid sick and paid family and medical leave requirements, and declaring COVID-19 a national emergency.

As federal and state governments respond to COVID-19, employers and plan fiduciaries must also address the evolving issues arising under employer-sponsored health plans.

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (the SECURE Act) was signed into U.S. law on December 20, 2019.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued proposed regulations on October 23, 2019, providing for a new electronic-delivery safe harbor applicable to certain required disclosures for ERISA-governed retirement plans.

The IRS issued final regulations on September 19, 2019, easing the 401(k) hardship distribution rules.

Thirty-five years after deciding that arbitration clauses in employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) were unenforceable, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has reversed itself by approving the use of mandatory arbitration clauses and class action waivers in ERISA-governed benefit plans in Dorman v. Charles Schwab Corp.

The Washington Legislature’s 2019 session produced four bills increasing business and occupation (B&O) taxes.

The wave of federal charges against some fifty individuals for college admissions fraud and testing bribery schemes caught numerous universities and much of the United States by surprise.

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled more than 50 years of Commerce Clause precedent to hold that a state may require an out-of-state retailer with no physical presence in the taxing state to collect sales and use taxes on sales of goods and services delivered in the state.

The Tax Cuts and Job Act of 2017 (the Act), was signed into law on Dec. 22, 2017, bringing a myriad of changes to the Internal Revenue Code and sparking a substantial amount of commentary and analysis. While much attention has been centered on the consequences of the Act for individual and business taxpayers, relatively little focus has been given to the impact of the Act on trust and estates.

Although business-related settlement payments (and attorneys’ fees) are generally tax-deductible, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Tax Act) restricts an employer’s ability to obtain tax deductions for settlements of sexual harassment and abuse claims that are subject to nondisclosure agreements.

The King County Superior Court held on November 17, 2017, that Seattle’s recently adopted city income tax is illegal under Washington law.

The City of Seattle adopted Ordinance 125339 on July 14, 2017, which imposes an income tax on Seattle residents and certain irrevocable trusts.

The Government of India amended its double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) with Singapore on December 30, 2016.

The Indian government approved a new India-Cyprus tax treaty on August 24, 2016  that will allow the Indian government to tax capital gains on investments routed through Cyprus.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), collaborating with German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, in spring 2016 began leaking approximately 11 million internal documents obtained without permission from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca by an anonymous whistleblower.

The IRS recently issued Notice 2016-31, providing further guidance regarding the “beginning of construction” requirement for the production tax credit (PTC).

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights recently announced the long-awaited launch of Phase 2 of its HIPAA Audit Program.

President Obama signed into law the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (the PATH Act) on December 18, 2015.  Among other provisions, the PATH Act provides that the 100 percent exclusion from gross income of certain capital gains from sales of qualified small business stock will apply to all investments made after September 27, 2010, including investments made in 2015 that were not eligible for the exclusion prior to the passage of the PATH Act. 

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has significantly changed the legal landscape for employer-sponsored health plans by adding reporting obligations, benefit mandates, fees, notices and potential penalties for plans that do not meet specific coverage and cost requirements.

Retailers and other businesses use loyalty and rewards programs to draw in customers throughout the year. However, there are several sales and use tax consequences of promoting consumer loyalty.

Examining a loyalty program reward's form, structure, and parameters is essential for determining the state sales and use tax consequences.  Read the full article.

Employers should take immediate action to ensure that they are properly classifying their workers in light of new guidance released on July 15, 2015, by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).

On April 29, 2015, the Washington Court of Appeals issued an important tax decision in Avnet, Inc. v. Washington Department of Revenue, Dkt. No. 45108-5-II.  In its most significant holding, the court of appeals effectively eliminated the transactional nexus requirement for Washington B&O tax.  

Over the last several years, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has focused its efforts on enforcement of U.S. laws with respect to offshore assets held by U.S. citizens and residents, including their tax payment and reporting obligations.

The Seattle employment community is abuzz about the prospect of a $15 minimum wage for all Seattle employees, which would make it the highest minimum wage in the nation.

The Affordable Care Act added the so-called “Play-or-Pay” mandate or “Employer Shared Responsibility” provisions to the Internal Revenue Code (the Code).

On December 12, 2013, the Oregon Supreme Court issued its decision in Tektronix, Inc. v. Oregon Dep’t. of Revenue.  The court held that the taxpayer’s receipts from the sale of goodwill, making up a part of the sale of a business division, were excluded from the sales factor under ORS 314.665(6)(a).

On September 13, 2013 the U.S. Department of the Treasury (IRS), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), collectively referred to herein as the Departments, coordinated the issuance of guidance regarding the application of certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to health reimbursement arrangements and other employer-sponsored healthcare arrangements.

Recently, the SEC, by a vote of 3 to 2, proposed long-delayed and controversial rules to implement the “CEO pay ratio” disclosure mandated under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  The proposed rules, voted in on September 18, 2013, would require U.S. public companies to disclose the median annual total compensation of all employees and the ratio of that median to the annual total compensation of the company’s CEO.

The employer shared responsibility provisions, sometimes referred to as pay-or-play, of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will take effect on January 1, 2015, but in order to be ready to comply, some employers need to take action now.

In response to the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013), the Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Ruling 2013-17 (Ruling) on August 29, 2013, in which the IRS set forth the following federal tax principles:

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a settlement on August 14, 2013, with Affinity Health Plan (Affinity), a not-for-profit managed care plan, which included a payment of $1,215,780, for a HIPAA security violation caused by Affinity’s failure to remove Electronic Protected Health Information (EPHI) from the hard drive of a leased photocopier that was returned to the leasing company.

The United States Supreme Court significantly changed the treatment of same-sex spouses under qualified retirement plans in United States v. Windsor.  For the implications of Windsor and its companion case Hollingsworth v. Perry on health and welfare plans, please read our prior Client Update.

In 2010, the Washington legislature passed significant B&O tax changes including the adoption of economic nexus and market sourcing for service activities, as well as the imposition of B&O tax on directors’ fees. However, the largest revenue raiser came from a temporary increase of the service B&O tax rate from 1.5% to 1.8% from May 1, 2010 through June 30, 2013. While there were concerns that the 2013 legislature would extend the “temporary” increase, it did not. As a result, the service B&O tax rate reverted to 1.5% beginning on July 1, 2013.

Two controversial cases involving same-sex marriage were decided on June 26, 2013 by the United States Supreme Court.  The first is United States v. Windsor and the second is Hollingsworth v. Perry.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced today that after hearing and considering the concerns of employers about the complexity of compliance with the Play-or-Pay requirements under the Affordable Care Act, it is postponing the mandatory employer and insurer reporting requirements until 2015.

The Affordable Care Act (the ACA) established the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (the Institute) in order to provide comparative clinical effectiveness research data so that patients, health care providers, purchasers of health care and insurance products and policy-makers can make informed decisions.

On June 4, 2013, the Thurston County Superior Court issued a written decision affirming the opinion of the Washington State Board of Tax Appeals (Board) in AOL Inc. v. Washington Department of Revenue, No. 11-076 (Wash. B.T.A. May 9, 2012).

In a self-described “unexpected” ruling for the defendants in the consolidated LIBOR proceedings, Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald has dismissed the private plaintiffs’ antitrust and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) claims and significantly narrowed the scope of the Commodity and Exchange Act (CEA) claim.

Recently, we published a Client Updateexplaining how the Play-or-Pay mandate, or Employer Shared Responsibility provision, under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) generally works.

This article, Part II of a two-part series, highlights some of the major state and local tax questions and developments in Washington state.

Portland has become just the fourth U.S. city to require that employers provide sick leave. The Portland ordinance goes into effect January 1, 2014. Following is a brief summary of the ordinance. As the effective date approaches, we will provide updates dealing with the many traps and reporting difficulties created by the ordinance.

There was a great deal of state tax activity in Oregon and Washington in 2012 with the prospect of more developments to report in 2013. This article, Part I of a two-part series, highlights some of the activity in Oregon.

The Affordable Care Act added the so-called “Play or Pay” mandate or “Employer Shared Responsibility” provisions to the Internal Revenue Code (the Code).  Starting in 2014, certain employers may be subject to a penalty tax, or “Employer Shared Responsibility Payment,” if (1) they fail to offer the opportunity to enroll in an employer-sponsored health plan that offers “minimum essential coverage” (MEC) to substantially all full-time employees (and certain dependents); or (2) MEC is offered but it is unaffordable or does not provide the required minimum value; and (3) at least one of the employer’s full-time employees receives a premium tax credit or cost-sharing reduction for purchasing health insurance through an Exchange.

The Affordable Care Act requires employers to provide written notice of coverage options available through an Exchange (the Exchange Notice) to each employee by March 1, 2013 and to each new employee thereafter on his or her date of hire.

Final implementing regulations for many provisions of the HITECH Act (Health Insurance Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act) were issued by the Department of Health and Human Services recently, and will appear in the Federal Register on January 25, 2013. Informally referred to as the Omnibus Rule, the regulations address a number of changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule, HIPAA Security Rule, HIPAA breach notification rule, HIPAA privacy and security enforcement provisions, Business Associate definition and agreement requirements, and the interaction between HIPAA and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.

To kick off 2013, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Procedure 2013-12 updating the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS), the voluntary compliance program for employer-sponsored retirement plans.  Changes become effective on April 1, 2013, but plan sponsors may elect to use the revised program as soon as the IRS releases the newly created Forms 8950 and 8951. 

On January 2, 2013, President Obama signed into law the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the Act). Among other provisions, the Act provides that the 100% exclusion from gross income of certain capital gains from sales of qualified small business stock will apply to investments made after September 27, 2010 and before January 1, 2014, including investments made in 2012 that were not eligible for the exclusion prior to the passage of the Act.

A federal bankruptcy court judge has held that Washington Mutual, Inc. (WMI), a parent holding company that owned bank subsidiaries conducting business in Oregon, did not have nexus in Oregon by virtue of its ownership of the banks, the ownership of intangibles used by the banks in Oregon for no fee and the receipt of dividends from the banks.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued much-anticipated final regulations under Section 4191 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code), which imposes a 2.3% tax on sales of any “taxable medical device” by a manufacturer, producer or importer (collectively referred to as “manufacturers”). The IRS simultaneously issued Notice 2012-77, providing interim guidance to manufacturers while it continues to study certain issues that are not addressed by the final regulations.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Affordable Care Act) institutes a new 3.8 percent Medicare surtax on net investment income effective January 1, 2013.

In the wake of the recent admissions by Barclays Bank PLC that its traders sought to manipulate the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR"), corporations and other investors are only now beginning to appreciate the magnitude of the scandal and to consider how it might impact their own investments.

On May 9, 2012, the Washington State Board of Tax Appeals granted summary judgment to AOL, Inc., holding that AOL's purchases of services permitting its customers to connect with AOL's data center and the Internet were not subject to retail sales tax.  AOL Inc. v. Wash. Dep't of Revenue, No. 11-076 (Wash. B.T.A. May 9, 2012).  The procedural lessons of this case may be as important in Washington tax practice as the substantive case.

In double overtime, the Washington State Legislature ended the 2012 legislative session Wednesday morning, April 11, closing a roughly half-billion dollar shortfall for the two-year budget cycle.

On December 11, 2010, in a one-day special session, the Washington state legislature passed its first ever amnesty program, which the Governor is expected to sign.  Under certain circumstances, taxpayers paying past tax liabilities will have their interest and penalties waived.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington granted Amazon.com's request for  declaratory judgment that the North Carolina Department of Revenue’s (the Department) information requests for the production of customer purchase records violated the First Amendment and the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), 18 U.S.C. § 2710.  Amazon.com LLC v. Lay, No. C10-664-MJP, 2010 WL 4262266 (W.D. Wash. Oct. 25, 2010).

Collecting the right retail sales tax is sometimes a difficult task, but the government should not intentionally make it harder.  Unfortunately, because of a recent change in the law, retailers with operations in Washington state faced a confusing and uncertain tax environment, made worse by an unfortunate injunction obtained by the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County.

On April 12, 2010 the Washington State Legislature resolved the budget impasse and adopted a $794 million tax package that the governor is expected to sign.  The tax bill, 2ESSB 6143, contains a number of major changes to Washington’s tax system.