Dear fellow CAC Member,

I hope you are enjoying a great start to 2012.  The W-2’s are complete and hopefully most of your filings have been finalized.  It’s time to congratulate ourselves on another great year in Payroll and look forward to what 2012 has in store for all of us.

Speaking to you as President, I can tell you that the Board of Directors and I have lotsof great things in store for you this year.  As you can see, one of the newest things is the revival of our Chapter Newsletter.  We felt this was something that we needed to bring back, to help us all connect to one another better and know a little more about what is going on with the Chapter outside of just our Monthly Chapter meetings.

As you probably know, last fall we transitioned over to a new website platform for our Chapter Website.  This website has made many things we do as both Members and as Officers easier, not to mention it has a much more modern look and feel than our previous website, at a significantly lower cost to the Chapter.  We felt this was a win all around, and is very representative of the transition we are trying to make as a Chapter as a whole, and I would like to give special thanks to our Website Advisor, Brad Patterson, for continuing to oversee this process.

Although we have only been in place for a couple of months, as a Board, we also put to rest a long standing issue that we have faced as a Chapter for several years, and that is finding a stationary venue for our Chapter Meetings.  One that was central to our membership, provided a variety of menu options for us to choose from each month, provided a professional setting to host our meetings, all while maintaining a stationary cost that was within the Chapter’s budget.  I am very pleased to announce that due to the efforts of our Board, and particularly VP Kelly McGraw, The Fawcett Center will be the host of each of our Chapter Meetings in 2012.  For those of you that came to the February Chapter Meeting, hopefully you saw what a nice facility we will have access to, and that was just the beginning.  We may even have a theme lunch or 2 coming your way this year (particularly around football season), so stay tuned for that.  We will be on the OSU Campus so you never know who you may run into at the Fawcett Center, so please come and join us for our Monthly meetings and see what this new facility is all about.

My other focus this year is on development.  Developing you as a Payroll Professional and providing you with as much on-going education as possible.  For that reason, we added on a seventh Chapter meeting this year, in addition to the One-Day Seminar that we also plan to bring back this fall.  Each of these will provide you with opportunities to continue expanding your Payroll knowledge as well as continue to accrue RCH’s at a very low cost.  I also want to develop you as Members of our Chapter.  That means developing you into the future of the Chapter.  You have all received my survey requesting that you join at least one of our Chapter Committees.  If you have not yet completed that survey and let us know on which committee you would like to serve, I encourage you to do this very soon.  The Chapter needs you.  I know we are all busy, but I can assure you the overall time commitment is minimal, so please sign up today!!! 

Lastly, I just want to leave you with my best wishes for a great 2012.  We have wonderful things in store for you and this Chapter this year.  I am extremely grateful that you have chosen to be a Member of our Chapter and I am honored to be serving as your President for the current term.  Thank you.

Randall Abbott, CPP, ADP-CPS

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One way our members can help our Chapter is by volunteering for a committee.  We have the ability to do great things as a Chapter, but we need your support.  Recently, Randall Abbott, President of the Chapter, sent out a survey that outlines the 5 committees we need help with.  Each committee is chaired by a board member and will work closely with the board.  The committees are described below:

Chapter Events/National Payroll Week Committee

Chair:  (Open) Event Coordinator – Currently: Randall Abbott, CPP, ADP-CPS - President &
Kelly McGraw, CPP- Vice President

• Help to plan monthly Chapter meetings
• Help to plan National Payroll Week celebration
• Support our OCPP (Statewide) representatives for the upcoming conference
  
  

Community Service Committee

Chair:  Amie Cherrington, CPP - Chapter Relations Coordinator

• Plan charitable events & activities for members to be involved.
• Determine worthy causes and promoting to the Chapter.
  
  

Membership Committee

Chair:  Debbie Reese, Secretary

• Promote/Increase Chapter membership
  
  

Education/Study Group Committee

Co-Chairs:  Kelly McGraw, CPP - Vice President & Amie Cherrington, CPP - Chapter Relations Coordinator

• Setup of CPP Study Group
• Promote other educational opportunities
  
  

Technology/Website Committee

Chair:  Jenny Smith, CPP - Website Administrator, Advised by Brad Patterson, CPP

• Development of Chapter website
• Social Networking of our Chapter group
  
  

Please take a moment to complete the survey by March 10^th.  If you’ve missed that opportunity, you can contact the committee chair listed above to volunteer.  Or email the Board at admin@apacolumbus.org

Are there other community events that you would like for the Columbus Area Chapter to be involved in?  Please let us know by e-mailing us at chapterrelations@apacolumbus.org.

Payroll Issues for Multi-state Employers:

Does your company have payroll in two or more states? As you may know, handling payroll for employees who work in multiple states can be difficult and costly if not processed properly.

Make sure you are aware of crucial compliance information.

Attend APA’s Payroll Issues for Multi-State Employers seminar in Columbus, Ohio on April 17th. This class is also offered as a four-segment webinar series, this one-day seminar outlines topics such as wage and hour issues, tax levy withholding rules, and employment verification requirements across different states.

Visit www.americanpayroll.org for more information and to register.

Virtual Classes:

Need RCH or just want to increase your payroll knowledge but can’t get away from your office?

The APA offers a wide range of learning opportunities now through virtual classes?  Log on to www.americanpayroll.org to check out the selection of virtual classes. 

Click on the icons to join our LInkedIn and Facebooks group.
What are you waiting for?

It is important to keep your member profile up to date and complete.  If you haven't done so, please take the time to do it....Log in to www.apacolumbus.org and click on the My Membership Info link found on the Member navigation menu.

Did you know that if you register for one of our events and need to cancel it prior to the deadline, you can do it yourself? Log in to the site, click on View My Order History, look for the event you need to cancel and click on the gray box that says Cancel this order. 

If you bypassed the payment option when you registered and decide you want to pay via credit card, you can do that too.  Look for the Pay my balance option at the top of the View My Order History screen.

Earlier this year, we lost a fellow Payroll Professional and a former Member and Officer of our Chapter.  Teresa Hinkle, CPP passed away on January 25^th 2012.  Teresa worked for a variety of different employers as a Manager and Supervisor in the Payroll and HR fields, including Bisys, Cardinal Health and most recently, PCCW Teleservices.  Teresa was extremely passionate about her family and enjoyed travelling and taking cruises with her husband, Tom.  Our deepest sympathies go out to Teresa’s family as we wish them all the best.  She will be missed.

APA National will be celebrating its Diamond Anniversary at the 30^th Anniversary Congress on May 6-10, 2012, at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, in Orlando, FL.  Congress will host more than 200 workshops over 4 ½ days, earning up to 30 RCHs.  Congress is the World’s Largest Payroll education event, but also includes workshops in accounts payable and finance. The Expo portion of the event includes over 100 exhibitors and countless networking opportunities with attendees from a variety of different locations and backgrounds. Here will be something there for everyone and we look forward to seeing you all there!

Make sure you are one of the attendees! Register today and download a brochure at: www.americanpayroll.org/congress/

Federal 

Social Security withholding tax of employees to 4.2% was extended to 2/29/2012, and was then extended through the end of 2012. 

Withholding – There are new federal percentage method withholding tables available now.  The annual federal withholding allowance is $3,800 for 2012. 

Nonresident Alien Employee tax calculation for withholding has changed for 2012. 

The standard mileage rate for the deductible cost of operating a car for business use will remain at 55.5 cents per mile for 2012.  

The qualified parking expense exclusion for 2012 is $240 a month.   

The tax-free exclusion for the combined value of transit passes and transportation in a commuter highway vehicle decreased to $125 a month for 2012. 

The Federal Minimum wage rate remains at $7.25 per hour in 2012. 

IRS Updates Guidance on W-2 Reporting of Employer-Provided Health Coverage. The IRS has issued updated interim guidance on Form W-2 reporting of the cost of employer-provided group health plan coverage on 2012 Forms W-2 on the IRS website. 

IRS has issued new Circular E, Publication 15 and Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits, Publication 15-B. 

State & Local 

California – A new law now requires employers to provide written notice to new employees regarding their rate of pay, pay basis, overtime rate, allowances claimed against the minimum wage, payday and other information about the employer.  A new template, “Notice to Employee, Labor Code Section 2810.5” is available to aid in this notification. 

Illinois

Withholding – There is a new version of form of Form IL-W-4, Employee’s Illinois Withholding Allowance Certificate available. 

Michigan

Unemployment - Michigan has paid off its federal unemployment insurance loans and will not access the state solvency tax on negative balance employers in 2012. 

New Mexico

Unemployment - The taxable wage base has increased from $21,900 to $22,400 for 2012.

Ohio

Employer and/or School District Withholding Tax Forms Mailings Discontinued- the Ohio Department of Taxation will discontinue mailing employer withholding tax forms IT 501, IT 941, IT 3, SD101 and SD 141 and related instructions on an annual basis to certain employers. These employers are those that have previously filed a return and/or made payment electronically for the associated withholding tax account via the Ohio Treasurer of State or the Ohio Business Gateway website, either directly or through a third?party payroll provider or tax preparer.

2012 Minimum wage -$7.70 per hour

Non-tipped employees:

Non-Tipped Employees- includes any employee who does not engage in an occupation in which he/she customarily and regularly receives more than thirty dollars ($30.00) per month in tips from patrons or others.

Employers- who gross under $283,000.00 shall pay their employees no less than the current Federal Minimum wage rate (Current Federal Minimum Wage is $7.25 per hour).

Employees- under the age of 16 shall be paid no less than the current federal minimum wage rate

Pennsylvania

Withholding – Pennsylvania Act 32 of 2008 created a new local income earned income tax (EIT) collection system that is fully operational as of 1/1/2012.