The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. at the Whitehouse Inn Restaurant in Whitehouse, Ohio.
It was reported that Thomas Zaino spoke at the 16th Annual Ohio Tax Conference and addressed municipal tax issues including centralized filing/administration, uniformity of net operating loss carryforward, pass-through inconsistencies, composition of the local board of review, and consolidated returns.
The OML group discussed the possibility of requesting an audit by a small group of municipalities of the quarterly utility payments collected by the State. Columbus estimates that they have received about $50,000 less than they should have.
Federal HR 3359 – This is proposed federal legislation that has been introduced for the second time. In short, it would change the parameters of the 12-day rule to 60 days. The probability that this legislation will go to vote is uncertain at this time. We discussed whether or not it might be structured to impact the states but not municipalities. It was also pointed out that the current 12-day rule states that any portion of a day is considered to be a “day” whereas the federal legislation states that anything greater than 50% of a day is considered to be a full day. A flowchart illustrating the current 12-day rule can be found on the NWOTCA website. Remember, the 12-day rule applies to employees only. Self-employed individuals are taxable from Day 1.
Ohio HB 24 – This legislation became effective December 31, 2007 and gives self-employed taxpayers a deduction for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). This bill is not mandatory. Unless the municipality passes an ordinance, the deduction would not be allowed. It was noted that the Ohio CPA Society has told its members that municipalities are allowing it, so we can probably expect some confusion from tax preparers on this issue.
An informal survey of attendees showed that legislation on third party sick pay passed as part of Ohio’s biannual budget beginning July 1, 2007 is still causing confusion for everyone. We don’t have any confirmation at this time that the OML will try to address this matter in 2008.
The seminar is scheduled for July 9th through 11th at the Embassy Suites in Dublin, Ohio. The New Administrator Workshop always held at the beginning of the conference will be altered as more of a refresher course for administrators. Breakout sessions for cities and villages are being considered after the refresher course.
Mike Rizzo (Maumee) moved to approve a $300 contribution by NWOTCA to be put toward fees for speakers. Kim Mehlow (Oak Harbor) seconded. All members voted in favor of the expenditure.
Angie intends to contact volunteers in the next few weeks to schedule a meeting to study the details.
As currently scheduled, employers will be able to file their withholding reconciliations through OBG beginning next year.
Work Session
A work session is scheduled in Oregon for May 14th at 9:30 a.m.
Next regular NWOTCA meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 11th in Marblehead.