Obamacare

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The Court concluded that the federal government did not have the power to require individuals to buy health insurance, but it did have the power to impose a penalty on those who failed to do so. The Code Sec. 5000A(a) individual mandate that required persons to carry minimum essential health coverage for themselves and their dependents exceeded the federal government's powers under the Commerce Clause (Article I, §8, clause 3) because it would require inactive individuals to become active in interstate commerce. In addition, regardless of how integral the mandate was to the health care reform law as a whole, the Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I, §8, clause 18) did not provide independent authority for it.
However, the shared responsibility payment that Code Sec. 5000A(b) imposed for violating the mandate was a constitutional exercise of the federal government's Taxing Power under Article I, §8, clause 1. The Taxing Power is broader than the Commerce Power, because it gives the federal government a lesser amount of control over individual conduct, limited to financial coercion but not extending to criminal punishments. Although it was identified as a penalty, the payment is actually a tax because it was not intended to be punitive: its amount is relatively small, it applies even if the taxpayer does not knowingly violate the mandate, and the IRS has the sole authority to assess and collect it. The fact that the payment was intended to affect individual conduct does not preclude it from being a tax, especially since there are no criminal penalties for failing to carry insurance. In addition, the payment does not violate the prohibition on direct or capitation taxes (Article I, §9, clause 4) because it is triggered by specific circumstances, and is not imposed on every person or on the ownership of land or personal property.
Although the penalty actually functions as a tax, it is not subject to the Anti-Injunction Act under Code Sec. 7421(a) . Since Congress characterized the payment as a penalty, rather than a tax, it was clear that Congress did not intend for the Anti-Injunction Act to apply. This intention is not affected by the fact that the penalty is a tax for purposes of determining whether Congress had the power to impose it. The issue of the Anti-Injunction Act was a matter of statutory interpretation, so the language Congress used determined the outcome. However, the constitutional issue of whether Congress has the power to impose the tax was determined by the way the penalty actually operated, rather than what it was called.
Finally, the federal government could not withhold existing federal Medicaid funding in order to force a state to extend Medicaid coverage to individuals whose income was less than 133% of the applicable federal poverty levels. The extension so exceeded the original parameters of the Medicaid program that states could not be considered to have voluntarily agreed to it at the time they agreed to participate in the Medicaid program. However, this provision could simply be severed from the remainder of PPACA."

The 2012 Highway Bill did not pass!

Webinar Available from the IRS

U.S. Department Of Homeland Security Offers Free Webinars
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is offering free webinars throughout the month of June on E-Verify, Self-Check, and Form I-9. The following seminars are being offered:

• E-Verify Overview. Learn how this free service works, how to enroll, employer responsibilities, program highlights, and see a demonstration.
• E-Verify for Federal Contractors. For Federal contractors that have been or may be awarded a Federal contract with the FAR E-Verify Clause.
• E-Verify for Existing Users. A detailed review of E-Verify specifically for existing users. Topics include Form I-9, user roles, case alerts, how to handle a Tentative Nonconfirmation and common user mistakes.
• An overview of "Self Check". A voluntary, fast, free and simple service that allows individuals to check their own employment eligibility.
• Form I-9. Get an overview of the Form I-9 process, including step by step instructions on how to complete each section, retention and storage.
• CNMI. An overview to employers and workers residing in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) about Form I-9.

The complete schedule of free live webinars is available at www.dhs.gov/E-Verify (click on "Take a Free Webinar.")

Help your drivers live better lives

Truck stops, famous for cheeseburgers and steaks and all–you-can-eat buffets, also are adapting to concerns about driver fitness and health.  Snap Fitness, a franchiser of 24-hour fitness centers, announced Aug.  23 that it will locate workout centers in several Pilot Flying J Travel Centers across the country.
TravelCenters of America, which owns the Petro Stopping Centers brand, has opened two dozen workout
facilities this year in locations along heavily traveled interstates.

Cost of Goods Sold

The following are types of expenses that go into figuring the cost of goods sold.

·         The cost of products or raw materials, including freight

·         Storage

·         Direct labor costs (including contributions to pensions or annuity plans) for workers who produce the products

·         Factory overhead

Under the uniform capitalization rules, you must capitalize the direct costs and part of the indirect costs for certain production or resale activities. Indirect costs include rent, interest, taxes, storage, purchasing, processing, repackaging, handling, and administrative costs.

This rule does not apply to personal property you acquire for resale if your average annual gross receipts (or those of your predecessor) for the preceding 3 tax years are not more than $10 million.

Are you properly prepared for you taxes based on your tax bracket?

Are you properly prepared for you taxes based on your tax bracket?  There is still time to change your withholding's should you wish to lower your tax bill.  Go to my website accounting4truckers.net and get some free advice.   The 2012 breakdown is listed below:

Gross Earnings    Single                          Married                       Head of Household                             

10% Bracket	$0 – $8,700	$0 – $17,400	$0 – $12,400
15% Bracket	$8,701 – $35,350	$17,401 – $70,700	$12,401 – $47,350
25% Bracket	$35,351 – $85,650	$70,701 – $142,700	$47,351 – $122,300
28% Bracket	$85,651 – $178,650	$142,701 – $217,450	$122,301 – $198,050
33% Bracket	$178,651 – $388,350	$217,451 – $388,350	$198,051 – $388,350
35% Bracket	$388,350+	$388,350+	$388,350+

News for the trucking industry

Faced with increasing criticism from the trucking industry, federal regulators are giving motor carriers more time to comment on how changes in new safety rules could affect their safety-measurement system scores, a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration spokeswoman said last week.