The Ferguson Group Blog

Receive Alerts on Funding, Webinars, etc., from Federal Agencies

Want to receive automatic updates and alerts on activities going on in federal agencies, without checking their sites each time? You can sign up for email alerts for weekly or daily newsletters from most federal agencies without a hassle – just give them your email address and they will automatically send you newsletters, updating you on funding, new webinars, headlines, and publications. In general, look on the agency’s homepage for links titled “email updates” or something of that nature. If not, you can look for their RSS feed, which should be on the homepage, or any links indicating any connections through media, such as Facebook pages, twitter handles, YouTube channels, etc.

 

Here are some direction and links to federal agencies with email updates.

EPA: Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/

-At the home page, scroll down the left side until you see a picture of the United States. Under the heading “I am a…”, click your applicable identity.

- If you say “state, local official”, it will take you a page called “EPA for State and Local Governments”. Look on the right hand side for “EPA News”, and then under that, “Get any combination of EPA national and regional news releases e-mailed to you”.

- Click on whatever region suits your local government. From there, a pop up window will appear where you will enter your address. You can customize your email delivery preference and password if you would like

-After clicking ‘Finish’, you can customize your subscription topics to what interests you.

DOT: Department of Transportation http://www.dot.gov/ 

-Scroll to the bottom of the page, and look to the first column on the left hand side. Click on ‘Subscribe to Email Updates’.

-Enter your email address and create a password, if you wish.

-After, you can choose whatever updates interest you – news, initiatives, legislation, etc.

*For news about Grants, click the “Acquisitions & Grants News” under the “News” tab.

DOE: Department of Energy http://energy.gov/

-Scroll down to the bottom of the homepage to ‘Email Updates’, located in the light green strip under the videos in the dark grey bar

-Subscribe by entering your email address

-Wait to receive an email from the Department of Energy; click on the link within the email

-You then have the option to manage your preferences, which allows you to put in your full name and zip code

DOJ: Department of Justice http://www.justice.gov/

-At the homepage, scroll down and look on the right side of the page for a box titled ‘Stay Connected’. Once identified, click the link to sign up for e-mail updates

-To start your subscription, click on the tan link titled ‘Start, Change or Cancel Your Subscription’. Click on the link they provide you.

-You can customize how many email updates they send you and add a password if you want.

-Subscribe to the updates based on your preferences.

*For updates on grants, click on “Access to Justice” and then click the box by ‘Grant Information’

NIH: National Institutes of Health http://www.nih.gov/

-Scroll down to the foot of the webpage and click on ‘e-mail updates’, near a turquoise @ sign

-Click on the blue ‘Subscribe’ link

-You can choose to receive updates by text or email, and can subscribe to any or all of the topics listed

NOAA (National Weather Service): National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration http://www.noaa.gov/

-For this federal agency, you can subscribe to an RSS feed which can be subscribed to by email (i.e. Microsoft Office Outlook) or as a live bookmark on your internet web browser of choice.

-An RSS feed will provide updates separated from your regular inbox if you subscribed by using an email application such as Microsoft Outlook.

Municipal Bond Tax Exemption: No Time for Complacency

The tax-exempt status of municipal bonds may have dodged a bullet in the fiscal cliff debate, but the fight is not over. At the National Press Club yesterday, The United States Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties made the case for fully protecting the tax exempt status of municipal bonds. A cap on the tax exemption, proposed by the White House and key Congressional leaders, would increase the costs of borrowing for local governments, likely preventing  many infrastructure projects from moving forward.

According to the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, the exemption would cost the federal government $177.6 billion over five years, however repealing the status completely would have cost local governments $495 billion in interest expenses over the past decade.  Follow this link to the report and press release that the Conference of Mayors issued today.

Municipal  bonds, the report notes, have financed $1.65 trillion worth of schools, roads, sewer systems and other local projects over the past decade. Please consider contacting your Congressional delegation in support of the tax exemption and feel free to contact me at [email protected]  for Congressional contact information and talking points to help you support this effort.

Online Sales Tax Legislation Gaining Traction in Congress

Members of the House and Senate are pushing forward separate, but similar, pieces of legislation that would grant state and local governments the authority to collect taxes on internet and mail-order sales. Based on the 1992 Supreme Court’s decision in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, states are currently prohibited from collecting sales taxes from online retailers who do not have a physical presence in their state. The National Conference of State Legislatures estimates that state and local governments’ inability to collect sales tax from internet and mail-order sales can cost state and local governments up to $23 billion a year in missed revenue opportunities. At a time when state and local government budgets are under increasing pressure, the additional revenue generated from online sales tax could go a long way to ease that burden and to balance state and local budgets.

A quick recap of the most recent developments in both the House and Senate is provided below.

House Action

Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) of the House Judiciary Committee announced in Tuesday’s hearing on the Marketplace Equity Act of 2011, H.R. 3179, that he was supportive of the bill and would drop all efforts to pass his separate but similar legislation, the Main Street Fairness Act (H.R. 2701), that he introduced last summer. He also urged the original cosponsors of his bill to now sign on to H.R. 3179, legislation sponsored by Representatives Womack (R-AR) and Speier (D-CA). H.R. 3179 currently has 49 cosponsors. To see if your Congressional Representative has signed on in support of this legislation, click here.

Senate Action

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing for August 1st on the Marketplace Fairness Act, S. 1832, sponsored by Senators Durbin (D-IL) and Enzi (R-WY). The Senate bill currently has 19 cosponsors. You can view the list of Senators who have signed on in support of S. 1832 by clicking here.

One important distinction to note in the House and Senate legislation is that the House bill (H.R. 3179) exempts small business with less than $100,000 in online sales in any individual state per year, or less than $1 million in sales nationally from the tax requirement. The Senate bill (S. 1832) also includes a carve out for small businesses but sets that exemption at less than $500,000 in annual nationwide remote sales.

Stay tuned to the blog for updates, and consider reaching out to your Congressional delegation regarding this legislation.

Speak Up About Impact of Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act on Your Community

The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a Full Committee markup for tomorrow, June 28^th, on the Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act (H.R. 1860). H.R. 1860 was introduced last year by Congressman Lamar Smith (TX) and currently has 28 cosponsors. The Senate companion measure (S. 971) was introduced by Senator Wyden (OR).

H.R. 1860/S. 971 would preempt state and local governments’ taxation of downloaded music, movies and other online services, like photo storage.  In addition, the bill would exclude from the calculation of video franchise fees revenues generated by on demand and pay–per-view services.  The revenue generated by the fees for these popular serves has been used by communities for a variety of purposes, including, public safety, infrastructure, and parks. The loss of this revenue will be a burden for both state and local governments when they are already facing declining and or tight budgets.

If your Congressional Member is on the House Judiciary Committee, you may want to call him or her to voice your opposition to H.R. 1860. Remember --  when making calls regarding legislation it is important  to localize the issue and speak specifically about how, if passed, it would affect your community. In this case, you will want to speak directly about the potential financial impacts. Below is a list of the Congressional Members on the House Judiciary Committee. The markup is schedule to occur at 12 p.m. EST, so be sure to place your call soon!

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chair 

Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Ranking Member  

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI)  

Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC)  

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA) 

Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-VA) 

Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) 

Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) 

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) 

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) 

Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-VA) 

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) 

Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) 

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) 

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) 

Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) 

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) 

Rep. Tim Griffin (R-AR) 

Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) 

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) 

Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL) 

Rep. Sandy Adams (R-FL) 

Rep. Ben Quayle (R-AZ) 

Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV)

Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) 

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) 

Rep. Robert Scott (D-VA) 

Rep. Melvin Watt (D-NC) 

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) 

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) 

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) 

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) 

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) 

Res. Com. Pedro Pierluisi (D-PR) 

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) 

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) 

Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) 

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) 

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) 

Senate Passes 3% Withholding Repeal Legislation

Today, the Senate passed, by a vote of 95-0, a bill (H.R. 674) that repeals the burdensome 3 percent withholding tax requirement.

Before final passage, an amendment to H.R. 674 was approved, by a vote of 94-1, which would provide new tax credits for employers that hire unemployed veterans and require the Treasury to conduct a study of tax delinquency among federal contractors.

The inclusion of the tax credit for companies that hire veterans is based on elements of President Obama’s American Jobs Act (S. 1549), the Hiring Heroes Act of 2011 (S. 951), and the Veterans Opportunity to Work Act (H.R. 2433).

Because H.R. 674 was amended, the bill must go back to the House for approval before going to the President for his signature.

The House originally passed H.R. 674 on October 27^th. The White House is supportive of H.R.674 and its timely passage.

House Vote on 3% Withholding Bill Expected This Month

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) has announced that the House will vote this month on the repeal of the 3 percent withholding tax on U.S. government contracts. The House repeal bill (H.R. 674) currently has 254 cosponsors. There are two repeal measures in the Senate (S. 89/S. 164) with a combined total of 36 Senate supporters.

As it stands, the current 3 percent withholding requirement is due to go into effect in January of 2013. This measure would require federal, state, and local governments to withhold 3 percent from all payments for goods and services and would be a paperwork burden for local government and likely increase the cost of contracts. 

3% Withhold Repeal Press Conference

On Wednesday, September 14^th Congressmen Wally Herger (R-CA) and Mike Mulvaney (R-SC) will be leading a press conference to call for the full repeal of the 3 percent withholding tax requirement.

The President’s jobs plan calls for a further delay of the 3 percent withholding tax, but not a repeal. As it stands, the current 3 percent withholding requirement is due to go into effect in January of 2013.

Delaying the implementation of the 3 perfect withholding tax requirement, only delays the burdensome requirement for federal, state, and local governments to withhold 3 percent from all payments for goods and services and the likely outcome of an increase in the cost of contracts.

The press conference will be held at 3:00 p.m. in Washington, DC at the House Triangle (Rain Location: 2253 Rayburn House Office Building). This is a great opportunity to demonstrate strong support for the repeal in order to keep the momentum going. If you would like to join, please email [email protected].  

Momentum Growing for Repeal of 3% Government Withholding Requirement

We are all eager to see the new 3% government withholding requirement repealed before it goes into effect at the end of this year, so I’m pleased to let you know that the House version now has 218 cosponsors, with the  majority of House members cosponsoring the bill.  With the addition of Senator Toomey, there are now 29 cosponsors in the Senate and momentum is growing.  Additionally, in a memo to House Republican members late last week, Majority Leader Eric Cantor laid out their agenda for the Fall and included in the second section of the memo is repeal of the 3% withholding tax, which he deems a “burdensome requirement.”  

This measure, which will require federal, state, and local governments to withhold 3 percent from all payments for goods and services and  is due to be implemented in January of 2013, would be a paperwork burden for local government and likely increase the cost of contracts.  Studies also suggest that the estimated $215 million per year of increased revenue due to improved tax compliance will be less than the additional costs of implementing and administering the withholding requirement for governments and businesses.

If you are interested in finding out if your Congressional delegation has cosponsored repeal legislation and to learn more about how to advocate for full repeal of this requirement, please contact TFG Partner Amanda Wood at [email protected] or 202-331-8500.

- Posted by Amanda Wood, The Ferguson Group

 

Prepare for 3% Withholding Requirement - IRS Holding Phone Seminars

The effective date of implementation of the local government 3% withholding requirement has been delayed until January 2013, but it is not too soon to prepare. The Internal Revenue Service  will be conducting two phone seminars in order to provide a brief update on the enactment of required three percent withholding on payments by certain government entities, which will include a question and answer session. The forum will focus on which governments are required to withhold under these rules, what payments are subject to the withholding, and procedures for reporting and paying the withheld amounts. Efforts are still underway to repeal this withholding requirement, but these sessions will serve as a valuable opportunity to get up to speed on the requirements should Congress prove unable to enact a full repeal. 

Sessions will be held on August 4 and August 18, 2011. For more information and to register for one of the session please visit http://www.irs.gov/govt/fslg/article/0,,id=241237,00.html.

If you have any questions regarding the implementation of this new requirement of efforts that are now underway to repeal it, please contact TFG Partner Amanda Wood at [email protected] or 202-331-8500.

-Posted by Amanda Wood, The Ferguson Group