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Dan Pilcher
CACI Senior Vice President
& Chief Operating Officer
Phone: 303.866.9600
E-Mail:
dpilcher@cochamber.com
Friday, November 20, 2009
CACI Members: Deadline for Completing Survey on 13 Business Tax
Exemptions is Friday, December 4th
On Tuesday, CACI asked its members to complete a short survey
concerning the elimination or suspension of 13 business tax
exemptions/credits that are a part of Governor Bill Ritter’s
proposed 2010-2011 budget. Please
Click Here to
take the survey. CACI members’ input is critical for providing
feedback to the Governor and the Colorado General Assembly on
this issue.
Click Here for
an explanation of the exemptions/credits by the Governor's
budget office. CACI members with questions about the survey or
the exemptions should contact Loren Furman, CACI Vice President
of Governmental Affairs, at 303.866.9642 or via e-mail at
lfurman@COchamber.com
Thirteen Tax Exemptions to be Key Focus of CACI Tax Council
Meeting on Friday, December 4th
The 13 business tax exemptions/credits that the Governor has
proposed for suspension or elimination in his 2010-2011 budget
will be a key part of the agenda for the CACI Tax Council when
it meets from 10 a.m. until 12 Noon, Friday, December 4th,
at the CACI Office. The Council will also hear from the chief
of the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR).
The speakers from the Governor’s Office will be Todd Saliman,
Director, Office of State Planning and Budgeting, and Ben
Curtiss-Lusher, Policy Advisory, who will discuss the
Governor’s FY 2010-2011 budget proposal and the 13 tax
exemptions. Roxy Huber, DOR Executive Director, will
review her Department’s 2010 legislative agenda and answer
questions on regulations, legislation and the potential
implementation of the Governor’s proposed elimination/suspension
of the 13 business tax exemptions/credits.
The Governor’s Office says that suspending or eliminating the 13
exemptions/credits will bring in $132 million in new tax revenue
in the effort to balance the state budget next year. Colorado
has 100 business tax exemptions.
State Labor Department Provides Overview to CACI Members
Don Mares, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of
Labor and Employment, speaks to CACI Members
Yesterday morning, Don Mares, Executive Director of the
Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE), and Gary
Estenson, CDLE Deputy Executive Director, met with the CACI
Labor and Employment Council to discuss the CDLE 2010
legislative agenda and the operation of his department as well
as answer questions from the Council members.
The CDLE, whose annual budget is $160 million, is totally funded
by Colorado employers, Mares said, through such premiums paid by
businesses for workers’ compensation insurance and unemployment
insurance. Consequently, the CDLE reaches out to employers to
discuss its programs, legislation and regulations, he said.
“You guys are paying the freight,” Mares said.
The Division of Employment and Training is responsible for the
state’s federally funded workforce development centers and the
unemployment insurance (UI) system. Mares said that the Federal
Government has been cutting back its Workforce Investment Act (WIA)
funding since the early part of the decade, but the CDLE has
backfilled this reduction with money from the Employment Support
Fund, which is funded by the UI tax that employers pay.
Because of budget pressures, the CDLE has been consolidating
some of the rural workforce development centers, which is
difficult for rural areas because of the distances involved.
Mares said two members of the Colorado Congressional
delegation—Senator Michael Bennett and Congressman Jared
Polis—should be helpful to the state’s business community when
Congress takes up the rewrite and reauthorization of WIA because
of their committee assignments.
Mares highlighted SB-37, which was passed by the legislature
earlier this year and signed by Governor Ritter. The bill
revamps the amount of money the employers pay through a special
surcharge on workers’ comp insurance premiums into several
special cash-funds—including the major medical fund and the
subsequent injury fund--for workers’ compensation benefits.
Mares acknowledged the support of CACI and other business
organizations for getting the bill passed. For the second time
in this decade, the legislature this year raided these cash
funds to help balance the state’s budget. Consequently, the
funds were not reaching actuarial soundness as required by
statute. The new law only requires that employers pay into the
funds the amount of money that is estimated to be needed to pay
current benefits, a “pay-as-you-go” approach. These funds will
thus not accumulate the amount of cash that would tempt the
legislature to take it for general funds purposes. For details
on the funds and SB-37, see the April 3rd issue of
The Colorado Capitol Report on the CACI Web site,
www.COchamber.com
The Federal Government is providing money to the states to pay
for the administration of the extended benefits passed by
Congress, Mares said, but the money is really employers’ money
because it’s the federal part of employers’ UI premiums. Mares
discussed the status of the state’s Unemployment Insurance Fund,
noting that he will soon meet with business leaders to discuss
the health of the UI Fund and the possibility that Colorado will
have to borrow UI funds from the Federal Government next year
because the balance has dropped too low. He said 24 states have
borrowed money and the total may reach 40 by next year. Mares
said that Colorado pays better UI benefits than many states.
Mares discussed the implementation of SB-247, which modernized
the CDLE’s UI benefit system to allow it to receive $127 million
from the Federal Government to expand UI benefits in several
ways, including providing benefits to a spouse when a worker
moves to take a new job. (For more on SB-247, see the March
27th issue of The Colorado Capitol Report on the CACI Web
site.) CACI has been working with the CDLE on fine-tuning the
language of the implementing rules and regulations for the new
law.
CDLE Deputy Executive Director Estenson discussed a couple of
legislative items, including proposed legislation from CACI.
The issue concerns the determination of whether or not an
individual to be hired by a business should be classified as an
independent contractor or an employee. The combination of
statute and case law makes it difficult for employers to
determine the status of a worker. In addition, CACI has told
the CDLE that there are three different definitions of
“employee” in state law, which confuses employers. The CACI’s
Labor and Employment Council has discussed these issues at prior
meetings and would like to advance legislation for the session
beginning in January.
Mares said the CDLE also is working on an initiative to support
the Governor’s green-energy initiative with specialized
workforce development training programs. He also discussed the
CDLE’s approach to enforcing state law on companies concerning
the hiring of illegal aliens. For more on the CDLE and its
programs, click on:
http://www.coworkforce.com/
Mark Your Calendars: CACI Annual Business Day at the Legislature
Set for January 28th
Focusing on the 2010 session of the Colorado General Assembly,
CACI’s Annual Business Day at the Legislature is scheduled for
January 28th at The Brown Palace Hotel. The Luncheon
will be from 12 Noon until 1:30 p.m. and will feature key
legislative leaders. In addition, the 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. session
in the Old Supreme Court Chamber at the Colorado State Capitol
with CACI members will feature a panel of minority and majority
leaders from both the Senate and the House. For more
information on the Business Day at the Legislature, contact
Denise Reeves, CACI Vice President of Events and Programs, at
303.866.9622 or via e-mail a
dreeves@COchamber.com. |
