Recent Tax Changes & the California Consumer Privacy Act
The following is an update on recent tax changes, legislation, and preparations for the California Consumer Privacy Act.
Legislation H.R. 1865, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020” was signed into law on December 20, 2019. Here are the tax changes and other items that relate to employee benefits:
- The Cadillac Tax was repealed
- The Health Insurer Tax was repealed effective 2021, but in effect for 2020
- The Medical Device Tax was repealed
- The business income tax on qualified transportation fringe benefits for tax exempt employers was repealed
- PCORI fees have been extended to 2029
- Employer credit has been extended through 2020 for paid Family and Medical leave
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a consumer privacy statute that takes effect on January 1, 2020. The CCPA grants California consumers certain rights with respect to personal information collected about them by companies that do business in California. Here is an overview regarding CCPA and BASIC’s services:
- CCPA does not apply to information that is subject to other federal regulation and CCPA allows for the use of personal information for business purposes, such as the administration of BASIC’s services
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- CCPA does not apply to “protected health information” (PHI); which is protected by HIPAA and BASIC is generally governed by HIPAA for almost all our service lines
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- ERISA preempts CCPA for employer sponsored benefit plan data not covered by HIPAA
- CCPA AB – 25 provides employers and their vendors relief to most requirements related to HR employee data until 1/1/2021
- BASIC and BASIC’s vendors do not sell any data
- BASIC and BASIC’s vendors have implemented security and privacy measures
- BASIC will work with employers when we receive CCPA related requests from their employees or prior employees
- BASIC will support you by proving information about the data we use to administer benefits; please reach out to your Account Manager for assistance
Copyright 2019
