Month: June 2003

The words of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan at a recent congressional hearing, according to this report by Sue Kirchhoff for USA Today.com: “Aging population makes this deficit scarier.” The article addresses the concerns of economists over rising government deficits in the face of demographic concerns over the aging baby boomer population which will be tapping into Social Security and Medicare in the years to come. The article reports Paul Hewitt, director of the global aging initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, as saying that the USA will have the “slowest rising median age of any country for the next 50 years.” He goes on to say that the “boomers leaving will create a giant sucking sound in the workforce.”

Today’s Federal Register is here.

“Avoiding Pension Plan Time Bombs”: this article by Fei Mei Chan for Forbes.com discusses the pension plan funding issues facing S&P 500 companies.

Vinod Khosla speaks out for stock option expensing in this article for SiliconValley.com: “Expensing options at big firms could boost innovation at startups.”

AccountingWeb.com reports on congressional support for the “Broad-Based Stock Option Plan Transparency Act” which was introduced in March by Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.): “Congress Gains Support in Stock Option Fight.”

This article by John Snow for the Business Journal–“Humana rolls out swipe card”–reports that Humana Inc., in conjunction with Evolution Benefits Inc., MasterCard International and BankFirst, is offering a combined identification card and prepaid MasterCard for accessing funds in flexible spending accounts. The new program takes advantage of a recent ruling by the Internal Revenue Service, Revenue Ruling 2003-43 (via Benefitslink), which “blesses” such programs. (The ruling was discussed in previous posts here.) The article reports Humana Inc. as stating that a 60% increase in flexible spending account enrollment occurred as a result of adopting the “swipe card” program.

The PBGC provides this Interest Rate Update.

This CCH article discusses comments made by Don McPartland of the IRS’s Large and Mid-Size Business (LMSB) Division during the IRS Research Conference held in Washington, D.C. on June 11: “Stock Options in Cost-Sharing Arrangements Represent Dilemma for IRS.” The article highlights the complexities with stock option expensing for foreign-based operations.

The online edition of the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) has this article by Judith Burns: “Call for More Certifications Leaves Companies Confused.” The article reports on the history behind the confusion over the 906 certification, and reports Paula Dubberly, an associate director in the SEC’s corporation finance division, as stating a “stronger case could be made to certify 11-Ks” than the 8-K which is also under debate as well. The article also reports Dial Corp.’s general counsel, Christopher Littlefield, as saying that they are proceeding as if the 906 certification is required for the 11-K due to comments made by SEC officials at a public meeting in May, even though some outside lawyers said it wasn’t necessary. The 11-K 906 certification issue has been discussed in previous posts which you can access here.

Piper Rudnick has posted an excellent summary and analysis of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003.

Erik Heels’ blog has this post discussing how a major law firm has started a weblog, and this post on how a weblog can be the “main publishing platform for any website, including a law firm website.”

Broc Romanek at TheCorporateCounsel.net Blog has a June 12th post on the SEC Form 11-K 906 Certification requirement discussed in previous posts here.

You can’t tell from this article by Joyce M. Rosenberg for the Associated Press at WashingtonPost.com–“IRS Reaches Out to Small Businesses”–whether, in fact, the IRS is merely trying to encourage small businesses to adopt retirement programs or track them down for noncompliance.

Today’s Federal Register is here and contains the PBGC’s interest assumptions for valuation dates in July, 2003.

This very important news–“House approves new tax-cut package; Measure includes extension on child tax credit’–from Ted Barrett for the CNN Washington Bureau at CNN.com. The article reports that the White House has expressed support for both the House and the Senate versions of the bill. The article also reports that a White House statement released Thursday urged congressional leaders to “quickly resolve their differences.” Today’s edition of the Wall Street Journal reports Republicans as saying that “the White House is eager to put the matter to rest, and beyond the fix, cares little about specifics,” but also reports that “prospects look bleak for a quick resolution.”

A very good article by Sandra Block at USAToday discusses the practical effect of JAGTRRA for married couples–“Tax cut may enhance wedded bliss.”

An article by Michael Kaye discusses overfunded pension plans at BusinessWeekOnline: “Plenty in the Pension Pool: These 10 companies have well-funded retirement plans, and they’re highly rated by S&P analysts.”

“Candidate Edwards Calls for Pension Reforms”: this article at MercuryNews.com by Mike Glover discusses Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards’ comments in Iowa on his proposals for pension reform to correct what he calls pension inequities.

This article from the U.S. Newswire: “Snowe, Colleagues Take Aim at Attorney General’s Effort to Block Expansion of Health Care Plans for Uninsured.”

This article by Thompson Publishing Group at Benefitslink.com offers an inside look at the processes one company has gone through to meet compliance with the HIPAA privacy rules.