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Health Coverage for Children Under Age 27

Effective 3/30/10, health coverage provided for an employee's child under 27 years of age is now tax-free to the employee. This change by the Affordable Care Act authorizes employers with cafeteria plans (which are plans that allow employees to choose from a menu of tax-free benefit options and cash or taxable benefits) to allow employees to make pre-tax contributions to pay for this expanded benefit. IRS Notice 2010-38, issued on April 27, 2010, provides guidance to employers, employees, and health insurers on the income tax and payroll tax ramifications of this change.

It states, for example, that employers with cafeteria plans may permit employees to immediately make pre-tax salary reduction contributions to provide coverage for children under age 27, even if the cafeteria plan has not been amended to cover these individuals. Plan sponsors then have until the end of 2010 to amend their cafeteria plan language to allow these contributions.

For those in Illinois, effective for renewals after June 1, 2009, employers were required to allow children under 27 years of age to obtain health coverage. However, if the child was not a dependent under IRC Section 152, without regard to section 152(b)(1), (b)(2) and (d)(1)(B), the employee was required to be taxed on the fair market value of the portion of the insurance premiums related to that child (commonly referred to as “imputed income”). With the change to the tax code that took effect 3/30/10, this income is no longer required to be imputed as the health care benefits are now tax-free for children under age 27 as of the end of the tax year and the child is no longer required to be a dependent of the employee. A child includes a son, daughter, stepchild, adopted child, or eligible foster child
Health Care Reform has Arrived
[details]

Independent Contractor Issue Presentation...by Michael Zinser
[details]

IRS Announces 2010 Standard Mileage Rates

[details]

FTC Announces Expanded Business Education Campaign on 'Red Flags' Rule
[more details]

New Vision Restructuring Gets Court OK

read more at: http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/07/15/daily.6/

Operator of 14 US TV stations files for bankruptcy

From: http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1426264120090714

more details (which includes list of unsecured creditors)
Interep - Order Authorizing Operation of Business

Click here for the 10/30/08 court order.

Promoting Diversification of Ownership of Broadcasting Services

MFM & BCCA Members:

You need to be aware of a little known and apparently frequently overlooked provision in a March 5, 2008, FCC Report and Order (R&O) that involved numerous proceedings, including that Promoting Diversification of Ownership of Broadcasting Services. The provision requires licensee action NOW.

The new rule, that went into effect in July, requires that broadcasters, when renewing their licenses, certify that their advertising contracts do not discriminate on the basis of race or gender and “that such contracts contain nondiscrimination clauses.”

In other words, it is imperative that your review the substance of your advertising contracts to ensure the forms include an express nondiscrimination clause. If they do not, insert such a provision now. Don’t get caught at renewal time, because this little “nit” likely will have severe economic consequences in the form of an FCC fine or forfeiture.

The FCC has not specified any particular language to comply with the nondiscrimination requirement, but we suggest something along the following lines:

“Note: [Insert licensee name] and Radio Station(s) [insert call sign(s)] do not and shall not discriminate, in any way on the basis of race or gender, respecting their advertising practices.”

Questions? Please contact Dawn Sciarrino (dawn@sciarrinolaw.com) at Sciarrino & Shubert.

BCFM is now MFM - Media Financial Management Association

The BCFM Membership voted on Thursday, May 15, during the Annual Membership business meeting, to change the current organization name from Broadcast Cable Management Association (BCFM) to Media Financial Management Association (MFM), which more thoroughly reflects the current membership. Most of the legal paperwork has been completed and we will begin to integrate and change over to our new name. [Press Release

FCC Alert

The Broadcast Cable Financial Management Association calls your attention to a new “enhanced disclosure” form adopted by the Federal Communications Commission to report quarterly all public service programming broadcast by each TV station. A similar version for radio stations is expected to be adopted and released soon. Before the form can be used, the FCC is required to obtain the approval of the Office of Management and Budget and to estimate the number of hours necessary to complete the form. So far, the FCC has not announced how long it believes will be needed to prepare and file this report, but the scope and detail of the information demanded will clearly require the dedication of a significant commitment of personnel, time, and resources on a regular basis.

[READ full alert]

Health Coverage for Children Under Age 27