Prepared and Distributed by The Midwest Hardware Association, Inc.
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Legislation Proposed to Combat Rising Organized Retail Theft
By Misha Lee, MHA Wisconsin Lobbyist
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In an effort to try and combat the rise of stolen and counterfeit goods being sold online, Wisconsin Senator Roger Roth (R-Appleton) and Representative Alex Dallman (R-Green Lake) are introducing legislation to require online marketplaces verify that their high-volume third party sellers are legitimate businesses. The bill is aimed at increasing transparency and accountability for online marketplaces amid the rapidly growing problem of illicit goods sold online.
The legislation has support from a large swath of Wisconsin’s business community mostly from big box, brick-and-mortar retail stores, while strong opposition comes from online marketplaces that include Amazon, eBay and others. Similar legislative proposals are being considered by the current Congress and in other state legislatures. To date, only the state of Arkansas has passed legislation into law while 14 other states, including Wisconsin, are considering similar proposals.
The bill otherwise known as the “Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces” Act or the “INFORM Act” establishes more stringent identification and verification requirements for anyone who is considered a “high-volume” seller on online platforms to ensure they are legitimate sellers. The bill includes an exemption for occasional sellers from the requirements of the bill to avoid placing a burden on smaller businesses and individuals who occasionally sell merchandise online. A high-volume third party seller is defined under the bill as “a third party seller who in any continuous 12-month period during the immediately preceding 24 months has engaged in at least 200 discrete sales or transactions of new or unused consumer products that have resulted in a total of at least $20,000 in gross revenues.”
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Illinois General Assembly Completes 2021 Veto Session
By Alec Laird, MHA Illinois Lobbyist and Vice President, Government Relations for the Illinois Retail Merchants Association
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The Illinois General Assembly completed its 2021 veto session and is adjourned until January 2022. The General Assembly did not adjourn without passing a few contentious issues that included (1) passing congressional maps; (2) amending the Right of Conscious Act; (3) extending the unemployment insurance ‘speed bumps’; (4) passing a gaming bill; and (5) releasing the spring legislative schedule.
Topics covered in this document:
- Vaccine and Testing Mandates
- Unemployment Insurance
- Net Operating Loss
- Energy Tax
- “Push Tax” Abolished
- Congressional Maps
- Spring Legislative Session Schedule
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OSHA's Emergency Temporary Standard for COVID-19 Vaccination, Testing, and Face Coverings
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The Occupational Safety & Hazard Administration (OSHA)’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) became effective on November 5, 2021. OSHA’s ETS requires employers with 100 or more employees (Covered Employers) to adopt written COVID-19 vaccination and testing policies. Covered Employers have 30 days after the effective date, to comply with all provisions of the ETS except for the mandatory weekly testing provisions, which will not take effect for 60 days. This means that employees have until January 4, 2022, to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to avoid the weekly testing provisions. Covered Employers must comply with this the ETS notwithstanding any state or local law that prohibits employers from implementing policies that require vaccination, face-covering, or testing as a condition of employment. Read the full article, OSHA Releases Emergency Temporary Standard for COVID-19 Vaccination, Testing, and Face Coverings, by Boardman Clark LLP.
Direct website links to access OSHA’s FAQs and model policies are below.
Employers should note that although OSHA’s ETS has pending litigations, the future of the ETS remains uncertain. Many attorneys recommend employers continue taking steps to come into compliance, rather than waiting to see what will happen with pending litigation.
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Biden Infrastructure Law Ends Employee Retention Credit Early for Most Employers
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On November 15, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58) into law, eliminating the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) three months early, retroactive to September 30, 2021—the end of the third quarter. As a result, wages paid after that date are not eligible for the ERC. The law does not provide employers with any relief from potential penalties they may incur due to the early repeal of the credit.
Impact of Retroactive Expiration
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, as modified by the American Rescue Plan Act, created and then amended the ERC. The ERC is a fully refundable payroll tax credit available to eligible employers that suffered economic hardship during the coronavirus pandemic but nevertheless continued to pay employees and/or provide them with health benefits.
For most employers, the ERC amount for 2021 was 70% of qualified wages, including health plan expenses allocable to those wages, up to $10,000 per quarter, per employee. The maximum credit per employee was $7,000. For the first two quarters of 2021, the credit could be taken against the employer’s share of Social Security taxes. For the third quarter, the credit could be taken against the employer’s share of Medicare taxes.
Although employers could claim the ERC on their quarterly Form 941, they could also prefund their credit, by reducing their payroll tax deposits by the amount of their expected credit, or by applying for an advance of the ERC on Form 7200. Retained payroll tax deposits and advances from Form 7200 were reconciled when employers filed their Form 941 for the quarter.
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Payroll Service Implementation Update
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We are excited to announce that Retail Financial Services, provided by Midwest Hardware Association, has completed the first phase of the new payroll system implementation. We are moving forward with the next implementation phase and we need your assistance. The next phase is to help you, our valued client, create a login and password in Phoenix Online (CPO). Phoenix Online is, in short, the new payroll system where you will enter or upload employees’ time. You will be able to obtain reports (reports prior to 2022 will still be available via the MHA website), view and print pay statements, and have access to other valuable employee information. Your payroll specialist will contact you to assist with login set up and guide you in creating a password.
After your username and password are established, you are encouraged to explore CPO. Click here for the guide that will help you explore Phoenix. The Go Live date is scheduled for January 1st which is five weeks away. There will be many questions and we want to make sure you have ample time to have those questions answered.
We appreciate your assistance with this phase of the implementation process. We are working hard to ensure a seamless transition and appreciate your patience as we move forward. We are committed to enhancing your payroll experience and hope you will share in our passion for excellence and growth.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Colleen Winegarden, Payroll Services Manager at 715-254-2861 or [email protected].
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Sales Trends September 2021
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Here are the most recent Illinois, Minnesota-Dakotas, and Wisconsin hardware store sales trends, gathered from association members using the MHA's monthly accounting services. The figures derived for each region include sales data from the following number of stores:
Illinois - 21 stores
Minn.-Dakotas - 14 stores
Wisconsin - 61 stores
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Business Forms & Supplies
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Remember to make MHA your first contact for business forms and supplies. MHA members can purchase a variety of forms/supplies such as:
- Gift Certificates
- Purchase Order/Receipt Books
- Employment Applications
- Labels and Tags
- Personalized Envelopes and Letterhead
- Checks and Deposit Slips
Testimonial
“MHA makes it so easy to order/re-order checks and envelopes. Within two minutes, I can call the office, tell them my name and store, and ask to order/re-order my computer-generated checks with the self-sealing, dual window envelopes. It doesn’t get any easier than that. I wish the rest of my daily tasks went that smoothly!”
Beth Grill
Gus Bock’s Ace Hardware
Dyer, IN
For more information about MHA’s Business Forms & Supplies, please contact Judy Borski by phone (800-888-1817 ext. 361) or by email [email protected].
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