Headlines about "Fringe benefits - transit, discounts, other"

Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
Cell Phone Use Income Tax Reported on the Way Out
Excerpt: "The law classifying as taxable income personal calls made on an employer-provided cell phone appears headed for the legislative trash heap." (PLANSPONSOR.com)

Considering a Qualified Sick Pay Plan
Excerpt: "Under IRC sections 105 and 162, a business cannot deduct wages paid to a disabled employee. The key word is wages. IRC section 106 requires that a company pay wages only to employees who render services. However, a company can pay wages to disabled employees under a section 105 qualified sick-pay plan (QSPP)." (Fox Rothschild LLP)

[Guidance Overview] 2010 Maximum Vehicle Values for Cents-Per-Mile and Fleet-Average Methods of Valuing a Vehicle's Personal Use
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Generally, if an employee uses a company car only for business purposes, or if the only personal use is de minimis, the employee will realize no income on account of a company car. But if a company car is used for commuting or other personal uses that are more than de minimis, the employee will recognize income on the value of the personal use. That value may be determined using a general valuation rule or one of three special valuation rules: the automobile annual lease valuation rule, the cents-per-mile rule, or the commuting valuation rule." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)

The IRS Employment Tax National Research Project
Excerpt: "This month, the IRS with little official fanfare and no real advance warning, will begin a 'national research project' to study (1) payroll taxes, (2) fringe benefits, (3) independent contractor, (4) expense reimbursements and (5) other related 'payroll' issues." (Thompson Publishing Group Inc.)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Update of Method Thresholds for Vehicle Fringe Benefits
Excerpt: "The IRS has updated for 2010 (Revenue Procedure 2010-10) the maximum allowable fair market value (FMV) of an employer-provided vehicle for which the cents-per-mile and fleet-average rules may be used in determining the value of an employee's personal use of the vehicle." (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)

Business, Advocates Spar Over Proposal for Mandatory Paid Sick
Excerpt: "Lawmakers heard hours of heated and conflicting testimony on [January 14] on a proposal to make Maine the first state in the nation to require businesses to offer employees paid sick days." (Bangor Daily News)

[Guidance Overview] Issues for Employers Considering Leave-Sharing Plans for Haitian Disaster Relief
Excerpt: "The special tax treatment granted to leave-sharing plans is ordinarily limited to circumstances involving a medical emergency affecting the recipient or a family member. However, in Notice 2006-59, the IRS extended the treatment to certain domestic events declared by the President of the United States to be 'major disasters.' When a major disaster is declared, employees covered by a leave-sharing plan may donate leave time to be used by affected employees, so long as the leave-sharing plan is in writing and meets the following requirements . . . ." (Ropes & Gray LLP)

First Lady Michelle Obama Promotes Work/Life Balance in Visit to Labor Department
Excerpt: "First lady Michelle Obama urged companies to implement policies that will help their employees better balance work and family obligations during an appearance at the Department of Labor on Thursday, January 14. In an address to about 400 Labor Department employees, Obama also promoted legislation that would guarantee paid sick leave, a measure that has generated concern among HR organizations in Washington." (Workforce Management; free registration required)

Paid Sick Leave at Top of the Agenda After Health Care Reform
Excerpt: "After imposing new costs on employers through the health care legislation, many will question the wisdom of Congress even considering inflicting additional costs with new leave mandates. However, pressure will be brought on several fronts for so-called 'family-friendly' initiatives in an election year." (HR Policy Association)

IRS Delay of Debit Card Rules for Transit Benefits
Excerpt: "IRS rules allowing automatic substantiation of tax-free transit expenses paid by employees using smartcards or debit cards will take effect Jan. 1, 2011. Despite the delayed effective date -- the third since 2006 -- employers may rely on the rules through 2010. Transit expenses paid with cards other than the smartcards and debit cards allowed under the rules must be substantiated to qualify as tax-free." (Mercer LLC)

Commuter Benefits Remain on the Benefits Hot List
Excerpt: "According to TransitCenter's fourth annual Commuter Impact Survey, 35% of employers offered tax-free commuter benefits in 2009. Among large companies, this number rises sharply to 58%." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

[Opinion] Paid Sick Days Benefit Employees and Employers
Excerpt: "There's something wrong when workers have to choose between keeping a job and taking care of themselves or their families when someone gets sick. There's something wrong when going to a routine medical appointment or other preventative care could result in a pink slip. There's something wrong when a domestic violence survivor seeking help or services is punished with the loss of her job." (Chillicothe Gazette)

Bonus Features Affecting Year of Employer's Tax Deduction Addressed in IRS Memo
Excerpt: "When bonuses for services performed in one year are paid shortly after year-end, limiting the awards to employees still employed on the payment date may impair the employer's ability to deduct the bonuses in the year earned, a recent internal IRS memorandum notes." (Mercer LLC)

Proposed Federal Laws Would Mandate Paid Sick Leave for Employees with H1N1
Excerpt: "Proposed federal laws would require employers to provide paid sick leave to employees infected with flu-like or contagious illnesses, such as the H1N1 virus. Both of the laws, if passed, would take effect 15 days after enactment and would end after two years. There is also pending legislation to require paid vacation." (Poyner Spruill LLP)

Two-Thirds of Employees Haven't Taken All Their Vacation This Year
Excerpt: "Vacation time is an earned employee benefit and has a direct impact on work/life balance and general health and wellness. Pent up fears about job security and pressure to do more in streamlined operations may have been behind many skipping vacation time." (Sun Herald)

2009 Guide to Bold New Ideas for Making Work Work (PDF)
180 pages. Excerpt: "[The organizations profiled in this Guide are] the leading lights in creating workplaces that fit the needs of the 21st century workforce and the challenges of a changing economy. These employers are changing the norms of the workplace by thinking anew about how, when and where work gets done and about how to structure work to better meet the needs of employees, and of their families and communities, while also achieving organizational success." (Families and Work Institute)

Dependent Care and Workplace Policies in Our Economy
Excerpt: "Phoebe Taubman, a fellow at Equal Justice Works with A Better Balance: The Work and Family Legal Center has written an issue brief for the American Constitution Society, entitled Free Riding on Families: Why the American Workplace Needs to Change and How to Do It. . . . Taubman describes how paid leave, discrimination protection for caregivers, workplace flexibility, and workplace equity would bring our policies up to date with our needs." (Workplace Prof Blog)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Delay of Effective Date of Electronic Payment Card Guidance for Transit Expenses Until 2011
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: This delayed effective date is good news for third party administrators and employers offering qualified transportation fringe benefit plans where local transit systems are still not in compliance with the technological requirements for vouchers (presumably, the need for single-purpose cards or cards with separate 'purses' for transit versus parking expenses). But in the absence of clear guidance from the IRS on the effect of using noncompliant cards before January 1, 2011, cautious employers with noncompliant cards should change to a compliant alternative, if one is available." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Provision of Another Year to Comply with Guidance on Transportation Benefit Debit Cards (PDF)
Excerpt: "The IRS has again delayed the effective date of previously issued guidance on using smartcards, debit or credit cards, or other electronic media to provide qualified transportation fringe benefits under Section 132(f)." (Buck Consultants)

IRS Notice 2009-95 Delays Effective Date on Qualified Transportation Fringes
Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service has delayed the effective date of ruling which provides guidance on the use of smartcards, debit or credit cards, or other electronic media to provide qualified transportation fringes." (PLANSPONSOR.com)

2009 Workplace Holiday Fetes Less Festive, According to Survey
Excerpt: "A new employer survey finds the down economy has taken a major bite out of traditional year-end holiday workplace activities. BNA reports that its Holiday Practices Survey finds a significant dropoff in corporate sponsorship of holiday parties from 81% in 2008 to 67% in the latest poll. The proportion of employers backing a company-wide holiday party has also plunged from 64% in 2008 to 50% in 2009." (PLANSPONSOR.com)

IRS's 2010 Version of Publication 15-B: Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Publication 15-B, which is a supplement to IRS Publication 15 (more commonly known as Circular E), can be a useful reference for employers on the employment tax treatment of fringe benefits. But it is important to remember that this publication doesn't provide full coverage of the many rules that apply to the benefits it summarizes." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)

Benefits for Departing Employees Impact Those Who Remain
Excerpt: "Severance pay, outplacement support and other continuing benefits for terminated employees impact the morale of remaining employees, even affecting the company's brand and public image, according to new research on separation benefits. The study of more than 1,200 business leaders from 45 countries, conducted by DBM, a global outplacement firm, and the Human Capital Institute, a research group, reveals that most organizations (85%) provide severance to at least some of their employees, with almost half (45%) offering severance to all of their employees, including part-timers." (Employee Benefit Adviser; free registration required)

[Official Guidance] Text of IRS Notice 2009-95: Further Extension of Effective Date of Rules for Electronic Media to Provide Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "This guidance is intended to provide relief to mass transit providers that have been unable to update their present systems in order to comply with the Revenue Ruling guidelines prior to the current effective date of January 1, 2010. The effective date of Revenue Ruling 2006-57 is further delayed until January 1, 2011." (Internal Revenue Service)

Some Employers Scaling Back on Holiday Perks
Excerpt: "A new CareerBuilder survey finds many companies still plan to reward their employees with bonuses, gifts, and parties, but some are scaling back." (PLANSPONSOR.com)

Taking Care of Business Starts with Taking Care of Employees
Excerpt: "Commentary: Bob Nelson, keynote speaker for the Workforce Management online conference Road to Recovery: HR Strategies for Post-Recession Success, discusses some simple perks that organizations can give employees to sustain engagement during the downturn." (Workforce Management; free registration required)

Weighing Whether to Give Part-Time Workers a Piece of the Benefits Pie
Excerpt: "With the current unemployment rate verging on 10%, and employers cutting costs as much as possible, part-time employment is being explored by individuals and companies alike." (Employee Benefit News)

Paid Sick Leave Required By Local, State or Federal Law -- Is It Coming?
Excerpt: "Does your company offer its employees paid sick leave? Too expensive? Seen as unnecessary given the company's 'Paid Time Off' policy? Well, here's a head's up: paid sick leave for employees is on the rise and may be coming your way. Efforts to make paid sick leave a right for every worker are gaining ground in city councils, state legislatures and the U.S. Congress." (Troutman Sanders)

Some Companies Rethinking Holiday Perks This Year
Excerpt: "In lieu of bonuses, holiday parties and client gifts, companies are giving away their own services and turning to old fashioned favors as a way to thank workers and customers." (Wall Street Journal)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Releases Updated Version of Publication 521 on Moving Expenses
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Code Section 132(g) allows employers to reimburse employees for certain moving expenses on a tax-free basis, so long as the expenses would have qualified for an individual tax deduction under Code Section 217. The types of moving expenses that can be provided tax-free are limited, but some employers go further and reimburse a broader array of moving expenses, resulting in taxable income for employees. Publication 521 provides a brief overview of some of the choices available to employers when designing moving expense benefits for employees, but its main purpose is to help individuals determine which of their moving expenses may qualify for a deduction and how to account for any employer reimbursements." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Guidance Regarding Unused Paid Time Off and an Employer's Qualified Retirement Plan (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "This guidance affects sponsors of and participants in qualified defined contribution plans, including 401(k) plans and multiemployer plans. It does not directly address 403(b) plans or governmental 457(b) plans, and IRS spokesmen have provided mixed unofficial messages regarding its applicability to these plans. As a result, sponsors of these types of plans should not take any action without the advice of legal counsel." (Prudential Retirement)

[Guidance Overview] IRS's 2009 Version of Form 2106 for Employees to Report Deductible Business Expenses
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: The accountable plan rules allow employees to avoid tax on business expense reimbursements if three principal requirements are met: the expenses have a business connection, they are adequately substantiated, and any excess reimbursements are returned. If accountable plan reimbursements do not fully cover an employee's expenses, the employee may use Form 2106 to take a deduction for the unreimbursed expenses. Expenses may not be deducted, however, unless the employee maintains adequate records to substantiate them. Options like the standard mileage rate and standard meal allowances . . . can significantly simplify those requirements." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)

Hearing Indicates Emergency Paid Leave Bill May Be Modified
Excerpt: "Advocacy groups and employers expressed concerns about an emergency paid sick leave bill designed to help workers who are stricken with the H1N1 flu at a Capitol Hill hearing on Tuesday, November 17. The Emergency Influenza Containment Act would guarantee up to five paid sick days for employees who are told by their supervisors to go home or stay home because of a contagious illness." (Workforce Management; free registration required)

Hearing on Employers and the Public: H1N1 and Sick Leave Policies
Excerpt: "The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday, November 17 on how employer paid sick leave policies can help slow the spread of contagious diseases, like the H1N1 flu virus." (U.S. House Committee on Education & Labor)

For Many Ill with the Flu, Staying Home Isn't an Option
Excerpt: "In response to President Obama's declaration of the H1N1 flu as a national emergency and federal health and labor officials urging sick workers to stay home, Rep. George Miller and Rep. Lynn Woolsey introduced the H1N1 Flu Emergency Sick-Leave Bill. It would provide five paid sick days for a worker sent home or directed to stay home by their employer for a contagious illness, such as the H1N1 flu virus. [On November 13] the Los Angeles Times wrote an excellent article on why this legislation is necessary." (U.S. House Committee on Education & Labor)

How Common Is Paid Sick Leave in the United States? (PDF)
Excerpt: "Here are some details from the BLS: Nearly 90 percent of state and local government workers had access to paid sick leave, significantly greater than the approximately 60 percent of private-industry workers.Among civilian workers, 77 percent of full-time workers had access to paid sick leave, compared with 28 percent of part-time workers. Seventy-seven percent of civilian workers at firms with 100 or more employees had access to paid sick leave, compared with 53 percent of employees at firms with 1?99 employees." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

Transportation, Other IRS Dollar Limits Remain Unchanged for 2010
Excerpt: "Next year's dollar limits that apply to employer-provided transportation plans will stay the same as this year's, the IRS has decided. The value of excludable benefits under a qualified commuter benefit plan will be limited to $120 a month, and the value of qualified parking benefits will be limited to $230, the IRS said this week." (Employee Benefit Adviser; free registration required)

Lawmakers Call for Emergency Sick-Leave Requirement
Excerpt: "Sen. Christopher J. Dodd wants businesses to offer 7 paid sick days a year, so workers with the flu can stay home. Critics say the H1N1 flu pandemic is being exploited to push flawed legislation." (Los Angeles Times)

H1N1 Paid Sick Leave Splits Democrats, Advocacy Groups
Excerpt: "The House labor committee will hold a hearing on the Emergency Influenza Containment Act the week of November 16. It's unclear when or if a companion Senate bill will be introduced." (Workforce Management)

Pets Are Healthcare Dependents, Too
Excerpt: "With the economy starting to turn around, employees are still keeping a close eye on their money. But bring up their beloved pet, and they're all ears." (Employee Benefit Adviser; free registration required)

Temporary Paid Sick Leave Legislation Introduced to Deal with H1N1, Other Illnesses
Excerpt: "As concern over H1N1 and influenza-related illnesses continues to spread, legislation that would require employers to provide up to five days of paid sick leave per year to workers afflicted with influenza or other, similar contagious illness has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill applies to employers with 15 or more employees where workers comply with the employer's directive to go home or stay home from work because of a contagious illness." (Jackson Lewis)

EEOC Provides Technical Guidance on Pandemic Planning in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act (PDF)
4 pages. (Buck Consultants)

[Guidance Overview] Chart of 2009 and 2010 Retirement Plan and Other Inflation‑Adjusted Benefits (PDF)
3 pages. Also included are transportation and adoption benefits. (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)

Congress Will Consider Option for Federal Workers to Contribute Unused Leave Toward Retirement Account
Excerpt: "Many federal employees lately have been thinking a lot about saving for retirement. One idea currently being kicked around inside the Beltway is allowing government workers to roll their unused annual leave into their Thrift Savings Plans. President Barack Obama endorsed the idea during his Labor Day radio address in September. 'The rules ought to be written to encourage people to save instead of discouraging them,' he said. . . . Congress currently is considering a separate proposal to allow workers in the Federal Employees Retirement System to count their unused sick leave toward their retirement annuities. That legislation affects only the defined retirement benefit portion of FERS, not the TSP, which operates as a defined contribution plan." (GovernmentExecutive.com)

Firms Boost Workplace Benefits to Attract and Retain Tech-Savvy Workers
Excerpt: "Pingpong and pool, free lunches on Fridays, fully stocked refrigerators, on-site yoga, generous vacation time, telecommuting options and employer-paid health coverage: If the list of perks sounds like a throwback to the dot-com boom, think again. At a time when many businesses are slashing benefits to the bone, a growing number of Chicago-area companies are bucking the trend. Those fortunate employers who can afford to go the extra mile for their workers can boost productivity and ultimately gain market share, said Joe Dwyer, chief executive at Brill Street + Co., an Internet matchmaker for job seekers and employers. 'These companies go all out to attract and retain the best and brightest,' he said." (Chicago Tribune)

Tax-Free Commuter Benefits Enhances Overall Benefits' Offerings
Excerpt: "The economic stimulus package appears to have sparked more employers offering tax-free commuter benefits, reports the TransitCenter, a non-profit group that promotes mass transit use. In its 2009 Commuter Impact Survey, the organization reports a 35% increase in the number of employers with programs for tax-free commuter benefits since Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2008." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Guidance on Contribution of Unused Paid Time Off, Automatic Enrollment and Tax Notices (PDF)
Pages 1-3 of 6 pages. Excerpt: "During his weekly address over this past Labor Day weekend, President Obama announced several new initiatives with the goal of providing American workers additional avenues to save for retirement. The details of those initiatives were subsequently published in several Internal Revenue Service ('IRS') rulings and notices [and are summarized in the target document]." (Trucker Huss)

IRS Mounts Audit Initiative Targeting Misclassification and Fringe Benefits
Excerpt: "In the next few months, the IRS will commence an audit initiative intended to study compliance in the areas of payroll taxes, independent contractor (IC) status and fringe benefits/executive compensation arrangements. One of the goals is to reduce: (1) the tax gap by increasing tax compliance' and (2) the number of 'misclassified' ICs. A likely secondary objective, and one urged by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), is to ensure benefits coverage and 'labor protection' associated with employee status." (Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.)

[Guidance Overview] 2010 Benefit Limits
Excerpt: "The Service has also released health and fringe benefit plan adjustments effective January 1, 2010." (Kilpatrick Stockton LLP)

At Rescued Banks, Chief Executive Perks Keep Rolling with Fringe Compensation Rising 4 Percent Last Year
Excerpt: "Even as the nation's biggest financial firms were struggling and the federal government was spending hundreds of billions of dollars to save many of them, the companies as a group were boosting the perks and benefits they pay their chief executives. The firms, accounting for more $350 billion in federal bailout funds, increased these perks and benefits 4 percent on average last year, according to an analysis of corporate disclosures filed in recent months." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

Study Finds Almost Half of New York City's Workers Lack Sick Leave
Excerpt: "Nearly half of New York City's workforce -- about 1.9 million New Yorkers -- don't get paid sick leave, according to a new study by the Community Service Society of New York, a nonprofit advocacy group for the poor. Low-income workers are nearly twice as likely as higher-income workers to receive no paid sick days, with 66 percent of workers earning less than $36,000 a year for a family of three lacking the benefit, according to the study." (Workforce Management; free registration required)

Telework Programs Can Provide Myriad Benefits If Companies Get the Appropriate Policies in Place
Excerpt: "Technology has enabled telework programs to evolve beyond images of people dialing up in pajamas to remote workers tapping advanced collaboration tools that increase productivity and ensure business continuity. In some cases, disaster recovery plans have spawned well-structured and documented telework programs. But at the majority of companies, there are no formal telework policies in place, even as more and more workers go mobile. . . . Here are 10 simple steps that can help organizations advance their telework programs from ad hoc to admirable." (Network World)

Commuter Benefit Offerings Increase, According to Survey
Excerpt: "Despite concerns about cutting costs during the down economy, most employers are maintaining -- and in some cases increasing -- tax-free commuter benefits as part of their compensation packages, according to TransitCenter's 2009 Commuter Impact Survey. Eight months after the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which increased the amount of tax-free income employees could use to pay for their mass transit fares from $120/month to $230/month, TransitCenter found that over one-third (35%) of companies surveyed offer a tax-free commuter benefit, according to a press release. The announcement said employees at small businesses have been particularly enthusiastic about the increase in the tax benefit, with TransitCenter showing that 32% of the employees at its existing small business customers who were deducting the monthly maximum of $120 prior to the passage of the bill increased their deductions to above $120 after the bill's passage. The survey found flextime (33%), telecommuting (30%) and Transit (30%) are the top commute-related benefits offered by the surveyed companies. Seventy-two percent of respondents indicated they see tax-free commuter benefits as a way to help reduce their company's carbon footprint." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Transportation Benefits, Adoption Assistance, and More
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Employers with adoption benefit plans will need to confirm whether their plans automatically apply the latest limits or whether an amendment is needed to recognize the cost-of-living increases. If employers are applying the higher limits, they should communicate the increases to employees. (Transportation plan limits are unchanged for 2010, so employers will not need to consider or communicate any increases for those plans this year.) We note that, although 2010 parameters have been released for Archer MSAs, the Archer MSA pilot program expired at the end of 2007, which means that no new Archer MSAs can be established after that date unless Congress acts to extend the program again. Many who previously had Archer MSAs have switched to HSAs, which are generally more favorable." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)

[Guidance Overview] Tips Offered on Retirement Plan Changes
Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service will change tax forms to allow refunds to be automatically deposited into retirement accounts. Whether the money is directed at an individual retirement account or a defined contribution plan such as a 401(k), employers and their employees need to be sure not to exceed the annual contribution limits for these plans. In 2009, the limit on contributions by individuals to 401(k) plans is $16,500, and the limit on contributions to IRAs is $5,000, with certain exceptions." (The National Underwriter Company; free registration or paid subscription required)

Commuter Benefit Offerings Increase
Excerpt: "Despite concerns about cutting costs during the down economy, most employers are maintaining -- and in some cases increasing -- tax-free commuter benefits as part of their compensation packages, according to TransitCenter's 2009 Commuter Impact Survey." (PLANSPONSOR)

[Guidance Overview] Some Cautionary Advice About Cash-Outs of Unused Leave or Paid-Time-Off
Excerpt: "[I]f your PTO policy allows your employees to cash out up to $10,000 of accumulated PTO each year without restriction, they will have additional income each year equal to the total amount of PTO they could have cashed out -- even if they do not actually cash out any of their PTO! If you have maintained a PTO policy of this sort, you should have it reviewed and analyzed immediately." (Chang Rutherford & Long)

[Guidance Overview] Revenue Rulings 2009-31 and 2009-32 Dealing with Contribution of Dollar Equivalent of Unused Paid Time Off to Profit Sharing Plan (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "Under the facts presented in both Revenue Rulings, all the employers maintain a profit sharing plan which includes a 401(k) feature that, prior to the amendments permitting the dollar equivalent of unused paid time off to be contributed to the plans, meets the requirements of IRC section 401(a) and IRC section 401(k). The plans have a calendar plan year and limitation year and the contribution of the dollarequivalent of unused paid time off (when combined with other plan contributions and annual additions) does not exceed the limitations of IRC section 415(c), dealing with the maximum contributions on behalf of a participant under a defined contribution plan, or the limitations of IRC section 401(a)(30), dealing with the limitations on elective deferrals. In addition, the contributions to the plans are made timely by the employers and qualify as a deduction on the employers' tax return for the applicable taxable year." (Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Increases Alternative Per Diem Rate for Travel and Entertainment Expenses
Excerpt: "The alternative per diems companies can use to reimburse employees for business travel, sometimes called 'high-low' rates, have inched up for 2010. Every year, the IRS releases alternative per diem rates for employers that choose not to use the continental U.S. (CONUS) per diem rates set by the General Services Administration (GSA). The new high-low rates are from Oct. 1, 2009 through Sept. 30, 2010. The 'high' per diem rate for 2010 is $258 (up from $256 last year) for travel to any high-cost locality, defined as a place for which the GSA has set a maximum CONUS per diem of $211 or more. The 'low' per diem for 2010 is $163 (up from $158 in 2009). The low rate applies to travel to any destination not considered to be a high-cost location." (Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.)

European Workers Get More Time Off than U.S. Workers
Excerpt: "A new Mercer study of employer vacation policies found the average U.S. allowance is 15, days while Canada has a statutory minimum of 10 days. A Mercer news release said contrary to popular European belief, low levels of statutory time off in the United States and Canada are not comparative to European standards when taking public holidays into account. Workers in United States and Brazil have an additional 10 and 11 days of public holiday, respectively, while workers in Canada are entitled to nine. In total, employees in Brazil that can take the full entitlement and the full number of public holidays would receive 41 days off, those in the United States typically 25 days, and those in Canada 19 days, Mercer said." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

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