We would like to send a special thank you to our Sponsors: Lucas Oil Products, Inc., Chino Commercial Bank, Fischle Racing, Dickey’s Barbeque Pit, Bank of America, Shred-It and City of Hope. Without them the event would not be the same.

During the event, I was asked “what is the purpose of our event?” At first, I was taken back. I thought it was obvious. Our annual open house is a time to develop deeper relationships with our clients, partners, and friends.

As communication is vital in all aspects of life – especially in business – we use the open house as an opportunity to get to know our clients even better. The more we know each other, the clearer the lines of communication will become. And as we communicate more clearly, we will have an even greater ability to deliver awesome service.

Rebecca U. Cho, Staff Writer-Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

How to Report and Identify Phishing, E-mail Scams and Bogus IRS Web Sites

What can you do to help? Spread the message. You can include information about Free File in payroll or W-2 statements to employees or in internal communications. You can post a Jan. 1 to April 15 Tax Day count-down widget on your website. (Just go to www.freefile.irs.gov and copy the widget code.) You can place information about Free File on your Facebook page or Twitter account. We have a variety of tools and information available to partners on www.freefile.irs.gov to help spread the word about this program.

Free File is a private-public partnership between the IRS and about 20 federal tax software providers. Free File software helps taxpayers find important tax breaks, such as many Earned Income Tax Credits.  (In 2010, almost 80 percent of taxpayers received a federal tax refund and the average amount was approximately $2,900.)

Free File is safe; providers use the latest security technology. And, everyone is eligible. People who make $58,000 or less can choose the free brand-name software that’s right for them. That’s 70 percent of the taxpayers or 100 million people. People who make more than $58,000 or who are comfortable preparing their own tax returns can use Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic version of paper forms, also available only at IRS.gov.  Free File is available January 14, 2011 through October 15, 2011.

Monday, September 27 2010, 2:44 PM EST

Senate Democrats will  take a largely political swing at high unemployment this week, with a bill to provide incentives to stop outsourcing. The bill would suspend payroll taxes for companies that replace outsourced jobs with domestic hires and end tax incentives for companies to hire abroad. And it will give Democrats another talking point in their effort to show voters they care about jobs. But it’s one more initiative that’s too timid and too piecemeal to actually get folks back to work.

With unemployment at nearly 10 percent for all Americans and significantly higher for both blacks and Latinos, the Creating American Jobs and End Offshoring Act, introduced last week by Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, is an 11th hour attempt to address unemployment in the remaining weeks of this pre-election session. The bill has already come under attack from conservatives who say it will hurt businesses and slow growth and some progressives who doubt it’s enough.

What’s in the Bill

Durbin’s initiative would provide a two-year payroll tax holiday for companies that hire workers in the U.S. if the job would otherwise have been outsourced. The tax holiday would go into effect immediately and remain available for three years.

Payroll taxes, which include payments for Social Security and Medicare, are a significant financial weight for both employers and employees. The legislation would suspend the employer’s contribution to the payroll taxes for certain jobs. It would not, however, change the tax obligations of new hires, despite the fact that payroll taxes are generally considered to be some of the most regressive taxes around.

The bill’s drafters hope that by suspending employers’ payroll tax obligations, American companies will be more likely to hire U.S.-based workers.

In addition to the tax holiday, the bill closes loopholes and tax arrangements that actually provide incentives for companies to relocate jobs to other countries.

The Huffington Post has excerpts from the bill’s summary:

eliminates subsidies that U.S. taxpayers provide to firms that move facilities offshore. The bill prohibits a firm from taking any deduction, loss or credit for amounts paid in connection with reducing or ending the operation of a trade or business in the U.S. and starting or expanding a similar trade or business overseas.

[snip]

Under current law, U.S. companies can defer paying U.S. tax on income earned by their foreign subsidiaries until that income is brought back to the United States. This is known as “deferral.” Deferral has the effect of putting these firms at a competitive advantage over U.S. firms that hire U.S. workers to make products in the United States. The bill repeals deferral for companies that reduce or close a trade or business in the U.S. and start or expand a similar business overseas for the purpose of importing their products for sale in the United States. U.S. companies that locate facilities abroad in order to sell their products overseas are unaffected by this proposal.

Conservative business groups like the Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers oppose the bill.

“Limiting deferral would hinder the global competitiveness of these American companies, impede U.S. economic growth, and ultimately result in the loss of jobs,” Bruce Josten, a Chamber of Commerce VP, wrote in a letter to senators last week, reports CNN.

Not surprisingly, conservative Democrats have raised concerns about the bill as well. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Sen. Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, expressed concern last week that the bill would damage the competitiveness of U.S. companies, said Congress Daily, a Capitol Hill publication. “I think it puts the United States at a competitive disadvantage,” Mr. Baucus said. “That’s why I’m concerned.”

The bill’s supporters say the legislation will help stimulate American jobs in the short term and could help shift manufacturing and other offshore jobs back to the United States for an extended period. At the very least, the bill removes a set of incentives that, especially in a period of high unemployment, are hard to justify. And for Democrats, a vote on the bill, which is scheduled for tomorrow, provides a needed platform to highlight the party’s committment to economic recovery.

The Impact? Not Much

But it’s unclear how much of a dent the Creating American Jobs and End Offshoring Act could actually make. Though it’s sure to create some jobs in the U.S., those will likely be a drop in the bucket relative to the more than 14 million U.S. workers who are unemployed and the millions more underemployed.

Moreover, while it may help create some jobs, the tax holiday is skewed to the right in that it suspends employer contributions but not those of employees. As Dan Froomkin writes for the Huffington Post, “On its own, [the payroll tax is] the most regressive tax imaginable: 12.4% of your salary (typically split between you and your employer) no matter how little you make, and capped at an annual salary of $106,800.”

Suspending the employee tax, or building a more progressive tax structure overall, would help equalize the economy and stimulate it in the short term by giving lower income workers money to inject into the economy. As a matter of politics, the bill could help the embattled party stave off a massive congressional shift in the coming elections. But as a matter of policy, Democrats are once again offering up too little too late to stimulate the economy.

2010, and reports directly to Mike Demerjian, President.

“As a service provider, Payroll Link has a great reputation in the Inland Empire for customer service and integrity,” said Oschmann. “I look forward to helping the company grow

and provide industry-leading service.”

Payroll Link, a leading payroll-service provider in Southern California’s Inland Empire, has reached an agreement with Hansen House Communication which will provide support and service in public relations and corporate communication services.

“Payroll Link is a uniquely talented service provider in this growing region,” said Glenn Hansen, communication chief for HansenHouse, “and its founder Mike Demerjian continues to develop industry-leading ideas that will benefit his company’s clients, and will educate area business leaders. I’m excited to help Payroll Link tell its story.”

Hansen House, which serves a variety of businesses with communication services from its office in Chino Hills, Calif., will handle public relations and media relations duties, and will also work with Payroll Link on social media marketing development.

About Payroll Link

Payroll Link provides payroll-processing and human resources services to companies throughout Southern California. Veteran CPA Mike Demerjian founded the company in 1999 to deliver hands-on service, plus unequalled performance and integrity from a payroll-processing firm. Payroll Link also delivers tailored solutions for tax payments and filing, time and attendance tracking, and 401(K) and Cafeteria plan administration, as well as customizable tools for HR documentation and record keeping, and more.

About HansenHouse Communication

HansenHouse Communication provides focused communication services, including public and media relations, marketing communication, social media marketing, and custom publishing. Founder Glenn Hansen has years experience as a writer and editor, and as an advertising and corporate communications professional. HansenHouse blends that working knowledge with evolving skills in social media marketing to create customized communication plans for businesses large and small.

For interviews or more information, contact: Glenn Hansen – HansenHouse Communication office: 909. 227. 5918

Mike Demerjian – Payroll Link, President office: 909. 568. 2900

Payroll Link – HansenHouse

Payroll Link chooses ColumbiaSoft’s Document Management System

Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. – By selecting the ColumbiaSoft Corp. Document Locator service, Payroll Link takes a huge step toward a new paperless workflow system. The Inland Empire-based payroll processing company investigated several options before selecting ColumbiaSoft, the Portland-based innovators behind Document Locator and other document management services.

“We’re making a big investment,” said Mike Demerjian, President of Payroll Link, “in a down economy, and it’s absolutely the right thing to do right now. The Document Locator moves Payroll Link even closer to a paperless environment…”

Read the press release here