Category: Advocacy

Withum Webinar Will Share What All Businesses Need to Know About ERC and PPP

Pandemic legislation has created significant opportunities for small and medium sized businesses. Rules ever changing, the programs have been shaped time and time again. Spend one hour with Withum experts as they detail some of the programs which have been most beneficial to businesses. The free webinar takes place June 28, 2021 from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm EDT.

Learning Objectives

During this session, we will cover the most up-to-date details on the following:

  • Paycheck Protection Program – Analyze lessons learned and understand best practices and pitfalls to avoid. We will also discuss the current status of loans in review with the SBA.
  • FFCRA Credits – Identify the payroll tax credits available to employers compensating employees for sick and family leave time, as well as updates to the program regarding absences related to employees receiving the vaccine.
  • Employee Retention Credit – Clarify changes in the program rules and regulation, and review of your businesses’ eligibility is a must. Our team will have a detailed discussion on eligibility and the opportunity available. We will also discuss the important consideration of the interplay between the ERC and the PPP Loan Forgiveness Calculation.

We want to ensure that any questions around either of these relief efforts are clarified. Our experts can assist with further calculations and opportunities following the webinar.

Presenters 

  • Frank Boutillette, CPA, CGMA, Partner, Market Leader, SBA Financial Assistance Services
  • Daniel Mayo, JD, LLM, Principal, National Lead, Federal Tax Policy
  • Matthew Walsh, CPA, MS, Lead, SBA Financial Assistance Services
  • Louis Young, CVA, Dealership Services, SBA Financial Assistance Services

REGISTER

MCAA’s Advocacy and Political Action Initiatives Are Worthy of Your Ongoing Consideration

To my fellow MCAA members and the leaders of MCAA’s local affiliates,

Effective public policy advocacy and non-partisan political activities go hand-in-hand with a broader suite of association member services at MCAA.

When MCAA’s Board of Directors re-instituted MCAA’s Political Action Committee over 20 years ago, they did so with a renewed commitment to building the profile of pipe trades union-signatory employers’ key role in the industry, and in policy deliberations in Washington, DC.

That foresight and initiative have paid off and will continue to do so into the future with our members’ and local affiliates’ ongoing commitment to that vision.

I and my fellow MCAA Government Affairs Committee members below are fully committed to that vision.

  • Kevin Armistead, Armistead Mechanical, Waldwick, New Jersey
  • Richard Bukovec, Diversified Piping & Mechanical, Inc., Mentor, Ohio
  • David Cannistraro, J.C. Cannistraro, Watertown, Massachusetts
  • Dennis Corrigan, Corrigan Company, St. Louis, Missouri
  • Chuck Daniel, MCA of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland
  • John Ferrucci, F & F Mechanical Enterprises, North Haven, Connecticut
  • Don Giarratano, Muir-Chase Plumbing, Anaheim, California
  • Alex Hayes, Rock Mountain MCA, Denver, Colorado
  • Mike Miller, Kirlin Design Build, Rockville, Maryland
  • Marc Pittas, The Hill Group, Franklin Park, Illinois
  • Dick Reigles, Reigles Mechanical, Grand Junction, Colorado
  • Richard J. Sawhill, ARCA/MCA, Ontario, California

We ask you to join us in that commitment. Here are some key points to consider.

MCAA Is Playing A Critical Role in Multiemployer Pension Reform

Multiemployer pension reform is in the works – finally. It was a long and arduous road – and there’s more ground to cover. MCAA, together with our partners at the UA, were key and effective players in that process.

Your association has a seat at the table thanks to MCAA members’ commitment to participation in the policy development process and the political activity that goes hand-in-hand with that.

If multiemployer pension reform comes out in our favor, it will be guided in that direction by continuing MCAA participation. Your firm and our industry will be immeasurably improved as compared with what might have been with a failing multiemployer system adversely affecting all of our businesses. Together, MCAA and the UA helped avoid that catastrophe.

MCAA Member Involvement Was Responsible for Other Key Achievements

Looking back, our MCAA member involvement was directly responsible for some other key achievements and direct member benefits over recent years, including some few examples below.

  • Keeping ill-conceived accounting disclosure rules relative to pension liability off our books – and staying vigilant about a recurrence of those problems.
  • Eliminating flow-down withholding taxes on Federal projects and adding some small subcontracting bidding protections for Federal primes and subcontractors.
  • Attaining market tax incentives for green building retrofits.
  • Maintaining prevailing wage standards – key elements of industry reforms.
  • Representing you vigorously in the health policy debate.
  • Actively fighting to maintain high-quality industry apprenticeship training programs.
  • Ensuring prevailing wage and labor law reforms in the coming years strengthen MCAA members’ market share.
  • Advocating for a number of legislative and regulatory reforms to staunch the rampant abuse of worker misclassification in the construction industry.
  • Supporting government initiatives to improve government responsible contractor selection policies for prime contractors and subcontractors.
  • Gaining elimination of reverse auction procurement procedures in Federal construction contract selections.
  • Advocating for collective bargaining and ERISA preemption of state, local and Federal paid leave mandates.

MCAA Continues to Advocate for Our Industry’s Best Interests

Looking ahead, there are larger general trends and market factors that will influence the direction of public policy, including workforce demographic challenges, rapid technological developments, and environmental challenges to our society as a whole and our industry in particular.  All of these trends will have some bearing on public policy choices in Washington, DC. Our MCAA member advocacy program and political action infrastructure must be maintained so that we – MCAA members – maintain our strong position to advocate for our industry’s best interests.

MCAA PAC Needs Your Commitment and Involvement to Keep the Momentum Going

Please consider your role in helping your fellow members shape our future with effective advocacy in Washington, DC. If you want to be part of your industry’s continued competitiveness:

  1. Join our efforts by going to the MCAA PAC website and completing  the prior authorization form to allow MCAA PAC to send you solicitation material.
  2. Reach out to your local affiliate Boards and ask them to do the same on your behalf.
  3. Get your local association directly involved with lawmakers and political decision makers in their home districts, where your voice is heard directly and most effectively.

Call me to discuss how you can get involved.

Best Regards,

Jim Gaffney, Goshen Mechanical, West Chester, Pennsylvania
Chairman MCAA Government Affairs and Political Action Committees

H.R. 133 Offers Relief, Opportunities and Challenges Going into 2021

The $2.3 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (H.R. 133) provides badly needed COVID economic relief, construction market stimulus and a forward-looking prospect for market recovery in public sector infrastructure investments as the pandemic recedes. In a memo to the MCAA Government Affairs Committee, Chair Jim Gaffney provided a summary digest of the items most likely to impact MCAA members and the MCAA policy agenda. The President is seeking greater individual stimulus checks, so there may be an amendment or veto, but this summary will stand for most of what will be the final result. Correction: The latest COVID relief measure signed into law Sunday does not extend the requirement that employers offer paid sick and family leave as required under the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act passed last March as erroneously reported in the MCAA summary published in the Weekly Update on December 28, 2020. The latest COVID bill extends only the availability of the refundable tax credit as under the FFCRA until the end of March 2021 for those employers voluntarily providing such paid leave after December 31, 2020. MCAA regrets the error.

Congress Expected to Pass Stimulus Package. Watch Withum’s December 23rd Webinar Covering Package Details On-Demand.

Experts from Withum’s SBA Financial Services and Tax Services teams navigate through the myriad of provisions included in the more than 5,000 page legislative package finalized mid-December. Withum’s team covers in detail the provisions of the legislation which cover the following topics:

  • PPP Loans: Another Round of Funding
  • PPP Loan Forgiveness Process (Round 1 and Round 2)
  • PPP Loan Forgiveness Deductibility

Withum also covers the basics of the following provisions, but expect to have more detailed communications on these as guidance becomes more clear:

  • Unemployment Provisions
  • Stimulus Checks
  • Employer Focused Tax Credits

WATCH ON-DEMAND

Connect with Peers on Hot-Button Issues at the 2020 Industry Improvement Funds Virtual Seminar on December 3, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. EST

Discover perspectives from around the country when you connect with industry improvement fund trustees and local association executives at the 2020 Industry Improvement Funds Virtual Seminar. Group discussions will provide time to learn from one another about hot-button topics: the new norm, engagement, post-COVID actions and collective bargaining agreement extensions. Groups will be pre-assigned to provide a variety of perspectives from around the country. The seminar will also include legal updates and a legislative and regulatory outlook. Join us on December 3, 2020 from 11:00am – 1:45pm Eastern for this free education. Don’t delay – register today!

Register Now for the 2020 Industry Improvement Funds Virtual Seminar

Registration is now open for the 2020 Industry Improvement Funds Virtual Seminar on December 3, 2020 from 11:00am – 1:45pm Eastern. The seminar will provide legal updates and a legislative and regulatory outlook. Group discussions centered around the new norm, engagement, post-COVID actions and collective bargaining agreement extensions will round out the program. Don’t delay, register now for this complimentary education.

Treasury Department Issues Guidance on Payroll Tax Deferral

By: Jim Paretti, Michael J. Lotito, and William Hays Weissman
August 31, 2020

On August 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued guidance for employers with respect to the deferral of the employee portion of certain payroll taxes.  This guidance stems from a presidential memorandum issued earlier in the month authorizing employers to defer payment of these taxes.  That memorandum allowed for the deferral of the employee portion of federal payroll taxes (6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare) from September 1, 2020 until December 31, 2020.  The memorandum allows employers to defer payment of the employee portion of these payroll taxes for workers earning less than $4,000 on a biweekly basis (roughly $104,000 annually). 

Treasury’s guidance makes clear that an employer may elect to defer the payment of the employee portion of these taxes on “applicable wages” until next year, when they would be owed in installments between January 1, 2021 and April 30, 2021.  “Applicable wages” are defined as those wages paid to an employee on pay dates between September 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020, “but only if the amount of such wages or compensation paid for a bi-weekly pay period is less than the threshold amount of $4,000 or the equivalent threshold amount with respect to other pay periods.”  The guidance specifies that applicable wages are determined on a pay period by pay period basis.  Finally, the guidance makes clear that employers are required to pay these taxes to the federal government, but goes on to state that employers “may make arrangements to otherwise collect the [due taxes] from the employee.”

The guidance leaves several clear takeaways.  First, it is clear that an employer is permitted to defer payment of these taxes, but is not required to.  Second, it is likewise clear that unless further action is taken (likely by Congress), these taxes are merely deferred, not forgiven, and will be due by the end of April 2021.  Finally, it is not clear what, if any, role an individual employee plays with respect to determining whether they want their share of these taxes deferred, or paid in the normal course.  Employers will want to keep each of these points in mind as they evaluate whether or not to participate in this elective deferral.

It is unclear whether Treasury will issue additional guidance regarding this program.  Littler WPI will keep you apprised of relevant developments.

MCAA PAC Appreciates Your Support

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the MCAA Government Affairs Committee has been working tirelessly meeting with countless Congressional and Senate offices remotely to push our agenda forward. This vital work was made possible by PAC contributions to candidates who support our positions over the long term. Please join us in thanking those who gave and consider making a contribution to support these vital efforts.

The Government Affairs Committee’s legislative and advocacy work on issues like COVID-19 cost increases on Federal projects, change orders in the NDAA, pension issues, and the PBGC just to mention a few was made possible by:

  • Robert Beck
  • Robert Bolton
  • Tim Brink
  • Michael Cables
  • Don Chase
  • Jay Chase
  • Matthew Cunningham
  • Steve Dawson
  • Jim Dougherty
  • Charles Fell
  • Lyle Ferguson
  • John Feikema
  • John Ferrucci
  • Steve Fosdick
  • Greg Fuller
  • James Gaffney
  • Michael Gallagher
  • John Geiling
  • Don Giarratano
  • Jason Gordon
  • Brian Helm
  • Scott Hinton
  • Brian Hughes
  • Jay Lusita
  • William Lynch
  • Mark Magnuson
  • Rick Moreno
  • Edward Newville
  • David Quirk
  • Mark Rogers
  • Bob Snyder Jr.
  • Lawrence Verne
  • Frank Wall
  • Scott Wallenstein

MCAA’s 2020 advocacy efforts continue to need your help. Contribute to the MCAA PAC, a critical factor to our success in moving forward legislation that positively affects your business.

(Note: In order to comply with campaign finance laws, you will need to complete a solicitation authorization form before making a contribution. Find additional details and both the solicitation authorization and contribution forms via the button below.)

A PAC Update from MCAA Government Affairs Committee Chairman, Jim Gaffney

In March, as a majority of the country slowed down, the MCAA Government Affairs Committee continued to work tirelessly meeting with countless Congressional and Senate office’s remotely to push our agenda forward. The committee has been working on COVID-19 cost increases on Federal projects, change orders in the NDAA, pension issues, and the PBGC just to mention a few.

What has helped the committee through this period has been PAC donations. The reality we face during today’s political time is the need for donations. MCAA’s PAC fund has been hit hard as many political fundraisers have been cancelled and political leaders have requested help.

Today, we ask for your help.

I, Jim Gaffney, am making a donation to the MCAA PAC fund, and have asked the M&SCA of Eastern PA to match my donation. If each association and member contractor could make a donation to the PAC we can continue to fight for the political needs of our association. I know times are hard for many, but please realize the organizations against our issues are not letting up and many have deep pockets. For those who have and continue to support the PAC, I want to personally thank you for your help. The PAC makes a difference for all of us and our industry.

MCAA’s 2020 advocacy efforts need your help. Donate to the MCAA PAC, a critical factor to our success in moving forward legislation that positively affects your business.

(Note: In order to comply with campaign finance laws, you will need to complete a solicitation authorization form before making a contribution. Find additional details and both the solicitation authorization and contribution forms via the button below.)

Contribute

Second Chance at Paycheck Protection Program Loan

As the new Senate bill was passed by the House on April 23, 2020, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) gained additional emergency funds. MCAA partners and law firm, Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C., provide an overview of the program application and loan forgiveness requirements to assist MCAA members.

DOL Releases Field Assistance Bulletin 2020-1 & FFCRA Posters for Employers

The DOL Wage and Hour Division has updated their COVID-19 webpage to include Field Assistance Bulletin 2020-1, “Temporary Non-Enforcement Period Applicable to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA),” states that the DOL will not bring enforcement actions against any public or private employer for violations of the leave requirements in the FFCRA for a 30-day period ending on April 17, 2020, provided that the employer has made reasonable, good faith efforts to comply with the Act.

Separately, the Wage and Hour Division have released the posters that employers are required to display outlining the rights of federal employees and non-federal employees under the FFCRA. The Wage and Hour Division has also made available a FAQ addressing issues related to the posters (e.g., where the posters must be displayed, etc.)

Find Out What’s New with Our Labor Partners at MCAA2020

In August 2016, Mark McManus was unanimously elected as General President at the UA’s 39th General Convention and on November 10, 2016, he assumed his new position leading the nation’s most progressive and influential trade union. Mark McManus has had a distinguished career in support of our nation’s hard-working men and women and has been unwavering in his commitment to a strong and mutually beneficial partnership between labor and management. See everything we have planned for MCAA2020 on our convention website.

UA-MCAA Labor Relations Conference Convenes in Las Vegas

The 2019 UA-MCAA Labor Relations Conference: Succeeding Together will convene October 29 – 30, 2019, at The Mirage in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conference, jointly hosted by the United Association (UA) and MCAA, will feature panel discussions focused on topics such as growing apprenticeships, expansion of service, and attracting tomorrow’s diverse workforce.

Register Today for the UA-MCAA Labor Relations Conference

The 2019 UA-MCAA Labor Relations Conference: Succeeding Together is scheduled to take place October 29 – 30, 2019, at The Mirage in Las Vegas, Nevada and registration is now open!

The conference, jointly hosted by the United Association (UA) and MCAA, will feature panel discussions focused on topics such as growing apprenticeships, developing a joint labor-management strategic planning committee and retention of workers.

Acknowledging the importance of engaging the future of our organizations, the UA is asking all locals to bring one apprentice to the conference this year. MCAA will be hosting a breakout session with these apprentices to give them an opportunity to really dig into and ask questions about the management of the business with MCAA leaders one-on-one. Because apprentices are not only the future of the UA, they are the future of the MCAA as well.

To maximize our time together, MCAA is asking its members to plan joint dinners with their local labor partners following Tuesday’s reception. Exchanging ideas and experiences is how we will continue to thrive in this industry we all love, it is how we will be Succeeding Together.

With New Tax Legislation, MCAA Contractors are Still Able to Claim R&D Tax Credits for BIM and Design

During the negotiation process of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act at the end of 2017, the tax credit for R&D spending was temporarily removed. Fortunately, MCAA and others worked hard to ensure that the final bill re-inserted the language for the Research Tax Credit (“RTC”) and made changes that potentially increase the credit by more than 20%. With the RTC in place, contractors are able to continue to claim tax credits for qualifying BIM and design work. Unfortunately, many mechanical and plumbing contractors are unaware that they can even claim part of their design and bid work for these tax credits.

This article is intended to offer an overview of the Research Tax Credit for mechanical contracting personnel presented in general non-tax terms, wherever possible. The credit is, however, “tax based”, and as such, the inclusion of all of the applicable rules for every situation is not possible in a brief discussion.

In order to qualify for the research tax credit, activities must pass several tests. Although these tests are fairly specific, “qualifying activities” are generally much broader than many people think. When contractors hear the term “research” they often associate the term with scientists wearing white lab coats who are mixing chemicals in beakers. However, the Internal Revenue Code definition of research, as defined under IRC §41, is much broader than this traditional definition. As a result, many contractors may typically associate a large portion of their research activities as “routine” or “ordinary”, when in fact many of these activities might qualify for the Research Tax Credit.

To successfully build a structure, there may be experimentation or an iterative process on technical design issues and the installation process to properly build it. Although it might seem complicated if you are not claiming these credits, many contractors have been doing so for years. Before you begin, it is recommended that MCAA members contact their tax professionals to ensure that they are properly claiming the appropriate costs and activities under the RTC.

To begin, the Internal Revenue Code states that the activities “must be intended to discover information to eliminate technical uncertainty concerning the capability or method for developing or improving a product or process, or the appropriateness of the product design”. The Code also requires a “process of experimentation” involving the evaluation of alternatives, confirmation of hypotheses through trial and error, testing and/or modeling (this can include iterative steps in evaluating design alternatives, alpha/beta tests, pilot trials, scale-up testing, marketing/field tests directly associated with the R&D efforts, qualification Trials, etc.). Finally, wages, supplies, and contracts associated with qualifying activities qualify. The expenditures can also be either capital or expensed items.

Broadly, this includes any activity where there is some technical uncertainty involved in the development or improvement efforts- i.e., is there a technical problem that needs to be solved before you can effectively launch/implement this equipment design, software, product, process, prototype, etc.? Personnel who are directly engaged in resolving the technical issues will qualify and those individuals who have a support role will also qualify (i.e., performing alpha/beta/unit testing, collecting data or writing programs to collect data, supervision, technical project management, etc.)

Uncertainty exists if the information available to the contractor does not establish the capability or method for developing or improving the product/process or the appropriate design of the product/process. The required level of uncertainty may be established in instances where your work requires the resolution of technical issues when either designing the mechanical and plumbing system or working from a set of drawings that are incomplete or need modification to function.

The definition of activities that qualify for the credit is fairly broad and the driver for the effort can be to produce a new, better or more competitive product/process, to increase reliability/quality, to increase general product/process safety, to respond to new federal/state requirements, to reduce costs or increase speed/efficiency, etc. Furthermore, the success or the degree of technological advancement is not a factor.

Below is a representative sample of activities a taxpayer would typically perform, which often times are misclassified as “routine” or “non R&D” related:

  • Evolutionary advancements to the functionality, performance, reliability or quality of an existing product (Change orders for process improvement);
  • Development of prototypes or models to prove out conceptual ideas (Including BIM);
  • Experimentation to verify if an existing construction technique or process can support a new product with differing characteristics (Testing point loads);
  • Experimentation to verify if a new or existing construction technique or process can be implemented in a new or different geographic region, new environment, or different industry/application;
  • The design and development of custom equipment, tooling, molds and/or dies;
  • The development of microcode used within machinery or robotics;
  • The redesign of an existing construction or building process to improve efficiencies, increase safety or reduce operating expense;
  • Testing to prove out the use of new materials in existing products;
  • Plant and/or Process scale-up activities;
  • Qualifying “Bid and Proposal” efforts; and
  • The development of custom software that is either intended to be used internally or sold, leased or licensed to third parties as a commercial product offering.

However, simply because some items may be new, unique, customized or involve special problems does not mean that they will automatically qualify for a credit. For instance, there may be options or choices in regard the application of standard engineering techniques, but no uncertainty in regard to the resolution of a technical issue facing the project team. Qualifying activities that are intended to resolve technical uncertainties should also involve some iterative type of testing, experimentation, the consideration of alternatives, trial and error evaluations, prototyping, validation, etc.

Thus, although no qualifying activity might occur for most HVAC systems (even where custom designs are involved), technical uncertainty might arise on mechanical engineering and/or design efforts in instances where there are unusual requirements involving, for example: complex temperature, humidity, pressure, ambient air ratio range controls with differing protocols for numerous chambers/rooms; the need to design for particulate and/or chemical fume control/mitigation where the chemistry might require special construction materials; unusual space limitations, local regulations, cost mandates, etc.; instances where numerous alternative methodologies for technical solutions are necessary; development of technical alternatives to address repeated system failures; etc.

The PATH Act of 2015 made the Research Tax Credit permanent but also broadened the impact of the credit for many small to mid-sized businesses. Starting January 1, 2016, small businesses that meet certain criteria can also use the Research Tax Credit to offset the FICA employer portion of payroll tax, with a credit cap of $250,000 for each eligible year.

 

– – –

 

Mike Foley is the Managing Partner at Foley & Smith, LLC, a firm specializes in Research Tax Credits.

Mike D’Allesandro is the Managing Director at Research Tax Credits, LLC

 

 

Emily Murphy Confirmed to Lead the U.S. General Services Administration

Emily Murphy, a former procurement policy consultant for the MCAA Government Affairs Committee and daughter of former MCAA President Jim Murphy and Mimi Murphy, was confirmed by the Senate as the new leader of the U.S. General Services Administration. The GSA is the lead civilian agency focusing on procurement policy and government operations.

Ms. Murphy’s confirmation hearing was held on October 18, 2017. She was introduced by Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, the Ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were supportive of Ms. Murphy’s appointment and exceptionally strong credentials for the position.

Watch the confirmation hearing

It’s Not Too Late to Reserve Your Room for the 2017 UA/MCAA Labor Relations Conference

The UA/MCAA Labor Relations Conference will be held at The Mirage in Las Vegas, November 14-15, 2017. The conference theme is “Highlighting Best Practices.” This will be a very positive and forward-looking event. There will be substantial UA attendance as the UA is holding a Business Managers Meeting in conjunction with the Labor Relations Conference. It will be great, therefore, to have robust attendance from MCA affiliated associations. To encourage maximum attendance there will be NO registration fee.

To reserve your room at The Mirage:

Reserve Online

To reserve by telephone:

Call: 800-627-6667
Reference code: SUAM1117

Room rates begin at $180.00/night and must be booked no later than Friday, October 20, 2017.

Registration for the conference will open in August. The conference will begin with a reception the evening of Tuesday, November 14. The conference program will be all day on Wednesday, November 15. That evening MCA local associations and UA local union attendees are encouraged to hold joint dinners. MCAA participants should, therefore, not plan on departing before the morning of November 16.

For more information, contact John McNerney.