The Supreme Court ruling reverses the Court of Appeal’s decision that a voucher certificate is prima facie evidence a worker is a “qualified employee” and thereby qualifies the employer to claim Enterprise Zones tax credit. Despite the Supreme Court’s acknowledgement that DiCon’s arguments were reasonable; the court reversed the Appeal Court holding and affirmed the long standing precedent that the burden of proof is on the taxpayer. The Court addressed the concern of the FTB having unquestioned authority in disallowing voucher certificates and held that random or unreasonable disallowances would be an abuse of authority and could be addressed as situations arise.

The Court of Appeal previously ruled that vouchers are prima facie evidence a worker is a “qualified employee” and thereby qualifies the employer to claim the tax credit.  The court concluded that the Franchise Tax Board may audit vouchers, but that the burden of proving a worker did not meet the criteria of a “qualified employee” would be with the state.   Additionally the Court of Appeal ruled that an employer’s inability to provide documentation requested by the Franchise Tax Board during an audit does not result in the FTB satisfying its burden of proof.  The FTB appealed to the California Supreme Court asking for the court to hold that the burden remains with the taxpayer to demonstrate eligibility and that the voucher does not support that burden.

During his speech, President Obama offered specifics related to his proposal which includes a payroll tax cut for businesses; expensing for new investments; and regulatory reform.  Other items proposed were tax credits for hiring veterans and the long-term unemployed, and the extension of unemployment insurance benefits.  The following are a few key facts contained in the proposal:

Tax Cuts to Help America’s Small Businesses Hire and Grow

• Cutting the payroll tax in half for 98 percent of businesses
  • Limited to the first $5 million in payroll
  • Tax rate cut from 6.2% to 3.1%

• A complete payroll tax holiday for added workers or increased wages
  • Completely eliminates the 6.2% payroll tax rate for firms that increase their payroll by adding new workers or increasing the wages of their current worker
  • Capped at the first $50 million in payroll increases compared to the prior year

• Extending 100% expensing into 2012
  • Effective incentive for new investment

• Reforms and regulatory reductions
  • To help entrepreneurs and small businesses access capital

Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America

• “Returning Heroes” hiring tax credit for veterans
  • $5,600 tax credit for hiring veterans that have been unemployed for 6 months or more
  • $9,600 tax credit for hiring veterans that have been unemployed for 6 months or more and with a service-connected disability

• Preventing Teacher Layoffs and Keep Police and Firefighters on Job
  • $30 billion toward educators and $5 billion toward public safety

• Modernizing 35,000 public schools across the country
  • $25 billion towards school infrastructure

• Immediate investments in infrastructure and a bipartisan “National Infrastructure Bank”
  • $50 billion for highways, transit, rail and aviation.

• A New “Project Rebuild”
  • $15 billion for rehabilitating and refurbishing thousands of vacant and foreclosed homes

• Expanding access to high-speed wireless

Pathways Back to Work for Americans Looking for Jobs

• Reform Unemployment Insurance Program
  • Extension of current benefits
  • Work Sharing
  • “Bridge to Work” Program
  • Entrepreneur and Wage Insurance Programs

• Hiring Tax Credit of $4,000 to employers for hiring long-term unemployed workers

• Prohibiting employers from discriminating against unemployed workers when hiring

• Expanding Job Opportunities for low-income youth and adults

Tax Relief for Every American Worker and Family

• Cutting Payroll Taxes in half thru 2012

• Mortgage Refinance Program

President Obama will present his proposal to Congress this week and has asked the Joint Committee to come up with additional deficit reduction necessary to pay for the Act and still meet its deficit target.

For additional details related to President Obama’s American Jobs Act, please click on the following link:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/08/fact-sheet-american-jobs-act

CCG will continue to monitor the above proposal and any additional legislation proposed within Congress and provide updates as warranted.

About CCG, LLC.

CCG is a national company specializing in assisting all "for profit" business across the U.S. in capturing incentive dollars and tax credits available to them from the government. CCG's mission is to help all mid-size and large corporations attain funds they should be claiming from the government by leveraging proprietary technology and processes.

CCG is a well established privately held company headquartered in Pasadena, California with a national presence and a best in class technology platform.

Highlights from the 2010 Tax Relief Act:

Individuals

• Bush-era tax cuts for all income levels remain in place through 2012
• Capital Gains/Dividends rates remain in place through 2012
• Itemized deductions/Personal exemptions remain as is through 2012
• Individual Tax Credits extended through 2012 are as follows:
  • Child Tax Credit
  • Earned Income Tax Credit
  • Adoption Credit
  • Dependent Care Credit
  • American Opportunity Tax Credit
• Alternative Minimum Tax Patch is provided for in 2010 and 2011
• Payroll Tax Cut
  • Reduces the employee’s share of FICA tax withheld from their pay from 6.2% to 4.2%
  • Effective for calendar year 2011, for wages earned up to taxable wage base of $106,800
• Extension of unemployment benefits for next 13 months through December 31, 2011
• Estate Tax Relief with maximum tax rate of 35% and exclusion amount of $5 million

Business Incentives

• Bonus Depreciation
  • 100% for qualified investments made after September 8, 2010 and before January 1, 2012
  • 50% for qualified investments made after December 31, 2011 and before January 1, 2013
  • Alternatively, in lieu of bonus depreciation, corporation may elect to claim additional research or minimum tax credits, which will be refundable in 2011 and 2012
• Small Business Stock Gain Exclusion extended through December 31, 2011
• Work Opportunity Tax Credit is extended through December 31, 2011
• Business Extenders (renewed retroactively from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2011)
  • Research Tax Credit
  • Indian Employment Credit 
  • New Markets Credit
  • Empowerment Zones
  • District of Columbia Tax Incentives
• A number of the Energy Incentives are extended for one or two years
• A number of the Disaster Incentives are extended for one or two years

Notable Omissions from the 2010 Tax Relief Act:

A number of key tax incentives and/or categories of key tax incentives were excluded from the 2010 Tax Relief Act.  CCG is highlighting these omissions due to the crucial benefit they provide to our communities; the companies in these communities; and the jobs that our clients create in these communities.  Coalitions will be forming to begin lobbying Congress to extend these programs, as Congress did for the other similar incentives within this Act due to their job creation influence.  The key tax incentives and/or categories are as follows:

• Renewal Community Zones
  • Expired on December 31, 2009, and very similar to the Federal Empowerment Zone Program which was retroactively extended through December 31, 2011
• Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program – Categories
  • Katrina – expired on August 28, 2009; proposals were to extend to August 28, 2010
  • Unemployed Veteran and Disconnected Youth – expires on December 31, 2010; proposals were to extend to December 31, 2011

CCG monitors all state and federal legislation, and issues Tax Alerts as necessary to keep you up to date.  Please visit www.ccg.com, and click on our “News” section for up to date information.

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CCG's new Incentivepro is an advanced screening technology that screens for more than 500 tax credits and incentives in one simple process. It integrates seamlessly with Taleo Business Edition™ to assess the potential qualifications for each candidate before hiring. This can help companies take advantage of the billions of dollars in government business incentives and employee tax credits that go unclaimed each year. With Incentivepro, candidates simply complete a short web-based interview of "yes/no" questions and Incentivepro immediately reports the potential tax credit amount back to the hiring manager. Incentivepro even pre-fills all the necessary claim forms with easy-to-follow instructions on filing.

The first and only cloud-based community of its kind, the Talent Grid harnesses the power of online communities and mass participation in the cloud to provide Taleo customers with superior Talent Intelligence. By pairing social networking with Talent Management, Taleo's Talent Grid is bringing together thousands, and potentially millions, to share knowledge, link job seekers with open positions, and solve Talent Management problems.

"By turning human resources departments into potential profit centers, Incentivepro adds tremendous value to Taleo's users," said John Simpson, CEO of CCG. "The potential savings can be in the millions. Through Taleo's Solution Exchange, we look forward to educating and engaging Taleo customers on what Incentivepro can do for them."

"At Taleo, we are committed to better business performance through better Talent Management," said Michael Boese, Taleo's Senior Vice President, SMB and Talent Grid Field Operations. "Our partnership with CCG is a great example of delivering on that mission with their easy to use incentive screening solutions. We're pleased to extend the industry's premier cloud community experience with solutions such as these on our Talent Grid."

To learn more about CCG's solutions available for Taleo customers, visit Solution Exchange at http://solutionexchange.taleo.net/sx/partner/91/CCG.

At the HR Technology Conference & Expo in Chicago on Sept. 29-30, visit Taleo at booths 300 and 308 to learn more.

About CCG
CCG is a nationwide provider of incentive tax credit services to the Fortune 500 as well as the middle market. CCG's tax credit screening technology, Incentivepro, is the only incentive screening technology available that companies can use to pursue the more than 500 incentives nationwide.

About Taleo
Taleo's (NASDAQ: TLEO) cloud-based Talent Management platform unites products and an ecosystem to drive business performance through Talent Intelligence. More than 4,700 customers use Taleo for talent acquisition, performance and compensation management, including 48 of the Fortune 100. Further, Taleo's Talent Grid cloud community harnesses the expertise of Taleo customers and more than 200 million candidates, 100 partners and industry experts.

About the Taleo Talent Grid
The Talent Grid provides the world's most comprehensive cloud community for Taleo customers, partners and job seekers to share best and "next" practices, select and deploy innovative solutions and interact to match jobs with the best talent. The Talent Grid includes: Knowledge Exchange, an online customer forum; Solution Exchange, an online partner application and solution marketplace; and Talent Exchange, an online talent marketplace for companies to share candidates and for job seekers to find the right companies. These communities run in the cloud and are built on a collaborative Web 2.0 framework. The Talent Grid is seamlessly accessible through Taleo's on-demand Talent Management solutions, available for companies of all sizes.

Mark DaBell
Director, Client Service/Business Development
CCG
T: 626.737.6109
Email Contact

John Simpson, CEO, will be addressing the conference Monday, September 13th, and introducing Incentivepro, CCG’s Taleo integrated tax credit screening solution.

CCG will also be providing hands on demonstrations of Incentivepro to Taleo customers during the conference.  The demonstrations will highlight how easily companies can capture the more than 500 incentive tax credits nationwide by utilizing Incentivepro’s Taleo integrated solution. Details regarding Taleo World can be found at www.taleoworld.com

You can also learn more about CCG’s solutions available for Taleo customers, visit Solution Exchange at http://solutionexchange.taleo.net/sx/partner/91/CCG.

About Taleo:

Taleo’s (NASDAQ: TLEO) cloud-based talent management platform unites products and an ecosystem to drive business performance through talent intelligence. More than 4,700 customers use Taleo for talent acquisition, performance and compensation management, including 48 of the Fortune 100. Further, Taleo's Talent Grid cloud community harnesses the expertise of Taleo customers and more than 200 million candidates, 100 partners and industry experts.

About CCG
CCG is a nationwide provider of incentive tax credit services to the Fortune 500 as well as the middle market. CCG’s tax credit screening technology, Incentivepro, is the only incentive screening technology available that provide companies a single screening solution to capture the more than 500 incentives nationwide.

Of interest, is the AJEDE Analysis of  SB 974 posted on 6/30.  This analysis is lengthy, but provides an excellent analysis of the public policy issues raised by the elimination of the TEA criteria and the inherent flaws in the mandatory time requirements for requesting and obtaining vouchers for qualified employees. 

CCG will continue to track this bill and issues updates new information becomes available.

            --The CCG Team

We previously informed you that the California Enterprise Program is in jeopardy once again.  Proposed legislation (SB 974) would drastically reduce the California Enterprise Zone (“EZ”) hiring tax credit in order to fund a new education tax credit.  SB 974 was passed by the Senate (21 yes – 16 no) on June 3 and is currently in the Assembly Rules Committee waiting to be assigned to a policy Committee.

SB 974 would effectively gut the EZ hiring credit by eliminating retroactive vouchering and the primary qualifying criteria, which is residency in a targeted employment area.

The revenue diverted from the EZ program would be used to fund a proposed “Career Pathways Investment Credit” for businesses that invest in career technical education programs for middle and high school students.

CCG is joining the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Association of Enterprise Zones, and other organizations and associations in opposition to this bill.  We need you to ask the California Assembly members to oppose this bill. Your voice of opposition is critical.  Assembly members must hear from their constituents.  They must know that this bill undermines the business community and targets the residents in their districts that are the most vulnerable and face the greatest employment challenges.

We have attached a template that can be used to express your opposition to this legislation.  The letter should be put on company letterhead, signed and mailed or faxed to the Assembly members as quickly as possible.  

Please use the tool at the following link to find your Assembly member’s name and address. http://192.234.213.69/amapsearch/framepage.asp   After your Assembly member’s name and address is located, please click here to obtain the appropriate fax number.  

Please help us keep a record of responses by replying to this email and indicating whether or not you intend to send an opposition letter.

Please feel free to call us at (626) 584-9800 if you have any questions.

The CCG Team

At the top of most companies' agendas is the need to improve cash flow and minimize tax liability. With CCG providing a national incentives solution, businesses will have the opportunity to qualify for and participate in a source of revenue not available to them in the past. “This new incentives initiative is necessary because our customers need a single-source solution for capturing government incentives nationally. To deliver the greatest financial results and efficiencies in the incentives process, we are deploying best-in-class technology with real-time reporting to measure the success of our clients' incentives program," said John Simpson, the company's CEO. "Employers across the country are facing unprecedented pressure to improve their bottom lines, and implementing a seamless process to capture all available government incentives is critical to remaining profitable in the marketplace."

CCG's service platform blends the knowledge and expertise of its incentives professionals with the use of technical systems to achieve the greatest financial results. To capitalize on hiring-based tax incentives, CCG leverages a proprietary business-rules based screening technology called incentivepro. This screening technology seamlessly integrates with a client's application process, regardless of on-boarding method, making it easier for clients to qualify and benefit financially. CCG established itself as the market leader in providing California Enterprise Zone services. "To accomplish this level of success," Simpson explains, "we hired the best tax minds in the country and teamed them with a highly talented group of technology professionals to solve the most complex incentive program nationwide, which is here in California. Now, with CCG expanding nationally, all for-profit companies will have the ability to benefit from government stimulus funds.”

About CCG

CCG is a national company specializing in assisting all "for-profit" businesses across the U.S. to capture incentive dollars and tax credits available to them from the government. CCG's mission is to help all mid-size and large corporations attain funds they should be claiming from the government by leveraging proprietary technology and processes. CCG is a well established privately held company headquartered in Pasadena, California with a national presence and a best-in-class technology platform.

See our re-branded website at: www.ccg.com

HIRE Act Tax Hiring Incentives

Payroll Tax Forgiveness

The HIRE Act’s cornerstone is a federal program for hiring and retaining the unemployed, upon which the employers will receive payroll tax forgiveness and a potential retention tax credit. Under the payroll tax forgiveness provision employers are not required to pay their 6.2 percent portion of OASDI (Social Security) for qualified new employees, up to the $106,800 Social Security wage base. The provision does not include the employer’s portion of Medicare and does not relieve employers of their obligation to withhold and pay over the employee’s FICA taxes. An employer could save up to $6,622 in payroll tax for each qualified hire.

The incentive is applicable to qualified individuals hired after February 3, 2010 and before January 1, 2011. Qualified employers may begin claiming the tax credit on their second quarter 2010 Form 941.

A qualified individual must meet the following requirements:

• As stated above, begin employment after February 3, 2010 and before January 1, 2011
• Certifies by signed affidavit, under penalties of perjury, that the individual has not been employed for more than 40 hours during the 60-day period ending on the date such individual begins such employment
• Is not hired to replace another employee unless the other employee separated from employment voluntarily or for cause

Retention Tax Credit

In addition to the payroll tax forgiveness, an employer can claim a business tax credit for each qualified individual hired after February 3, 2010 who stays with the employer for 52 consecutive weeks. The business credit will be the lesser of $1,000 or 6.2% of the wages paid to the qualified employee during the 52 consecutive week period.

Interaction with the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)

Special Note: The payroll tax exemption cannot be taken along with WOTC on the qualified hire. The employer will need to decide which incentive will provide the greatest benefit based on that qualified hire’s facts and circumstances, which is where CCG’s expertise eases your burden and maximizes your benefit.

Our firm has the capabilities to screen your new hires to identify those potentially eligible; provide you with the required certification affidavit form; and provide you seamless tracking and follow-up on all your qualified hires for both the payroll tax incentive, and the 52 week retention tax credit. In addition, your tax benefits will be protected by virtue of our proven quality control procedures.

About CCG, LLC.

CCG is a national company specializing in assisting all "for profit" business across the U.S. in capturing incentive dollars and tax credits available to them from the government. CCG's mission is to help all mid-size and large corporations attain funds they should be claiming from the government by leveraging proprietary technology and processes.

CCG is a well established privately held company headquartered in Pasadena, California with a national presence and a best in class technology platform.

In addition to the business tax incentives the bill also includes provisions related to providing unemployment benefits of up to 99 weeks, health care subsidies for the jobless, Medicaid aid to the states, individual and small business tax breaks, and several energy-related credits.

This bill is a second piece of Congress’ “jobs agenda” with more elements promised in the coming months.  The first and smaller bill previously passed by the Senate which included a job tax credit to employers hiring the unemployed and blending additional highway spending should come up for final vote next week.

The tax extenders bill will now be sent to conference between the House and Senate to defray the measures impact on the deficit and comply with the pay-as-you-go rules.

CCG will continue to monitor the above bills and any additional legislation proposed within Congress and provide updates as warranted.

About CCG, LLC.

CCG is a national company specializing in assisting all "for profit" business across the U.S. in capturing incentive dollars and tax credits available to them from the government. CCG's mission is to help all mid-size and large corporations attain funds they should be claiming from the government by leveraging proprietary technology and processes.

CCG is a well established privately held company headquartered in Pasadena, California with a national presence and a best in class technology platform.

The California Credits Group represents Dicon and managed the underlying audit controversy. CCG’s legal team will consist of General Counsel LaShelle T. Wilson, outside tax counsel Marty Dakessian, a shareholder with the law firm of Akerman Senterfitt, and litigators Tom Freeman and Paul Chan of the Century City law firm Bird Marella.

Dicon is no longer good law and cannot be cited in California Courts. California Rules of Courts 8.115 prohibits courts and parties from relying on or citing opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, and Rule 8.1105(e)(1) provides that unless otherwise ordered, an opinion is no longer considered published if the Supreme Court grants review.

The FTB’s opening brief is due November 17, 2009.

Nassco: FTB rehearing request denied and opinion will be published

In a unanimous vote on August 31, 2009, the California State Board of Equalization denied the FTB’s Request for Rehearing in the Appeal of Nassco Holdings, Inc., (February 25, 2009) SBE Case No. 317434. In February, the Board ruled in a 4-1 vote that taxpayers subject to “tax” as defined by Revenue and Taxation Code Section 23036 are entitled to use enterprise zone tax credits to reduce their alternative minimum tax liability.

In an additional action, the Board voted 3-1-1 (the Chair abstained) to publish a written opinion in the case. The written opinion is expected the 1st quarter of 2010.

We’ve attached a sample letter that can be used to express your support of the program. The letter should be put on company letterhead, signed and mailed or faxed to the following individuals: 

    Assemblyman Manuel Perez    

State Capitol

Sacramento, CA  95814         

Ph: (916) 319.2080      

Fax: (916) 319.2180  

Senator Lou Correa  

State Capitol

Sacramento, CA  95814   

Ph:  (916) 651.4034    

Thank you for your continued support of CAEZ and the Enterprise Zone program. If you have any questions please call us at (626) 584-9800.

The CCG Team

Pasadena, California, January 1st, 2010- CCG, formerly The California Credits Group, revealed its new business model, branding and service offerings today. After nearly a decade of being the premier California Enterprise Zone service provider; CCG is expanding its services platform to cover all 50 states The new positioning and national capabilities are driven by the changing needs of its clients and the importance of securing government incentives in every state.

At the top of most company's agendas is the need to improve cash-flow and minimize tax liability. By CCG providing a national incentives solution, businesses will have the opportunity to qualify and participate in a source of revenue not available to them in the past."This new incentives initiative is necessary because our customers need a single source solution for capturing government incentives nationally. To deliver the greatest financial results and efficiencies in the incentives process, we are deploying best in class technology with real time reporting to measure the success of our client's incentives program," said John Simpson, the company's CEO. "Employers across the country are facing unprecedented pressure to improve their bottom lines, and implementing a seamless process to capture all available government incentives is critical to remaining profitable in the marketplace."

CCG's service platform blends the knowledge and expertise of its incentives professionals with the use of technical systems to achieve the greatest financial results. To capitalize on hiring based tax incentives, CCG leverages a proprietary business-rules based screening technology called Hiring Pro. This screening technology seamlessly integrates with a client's application process, regardless of on-boarding method, making it easier for clients to qualify and benefit financially. CCG established itself as the market leader in providing California Enterprise Zone services. "To accomplish this level of success," Simpson explains, "we hired the best tax minds in the country and teamed them with a highly talented group of technology professionals to solve the most complex incentive program in the country, which is here in California. Now, with CCG expanding nationally, all for profit companies will now have the ability to benefit from government stimulus funds.

About CCG, LLC.

CCG is a national company specializing in assisting all "for profit" business across the U.S. in capturing incentive dollars and tax credits available to them from the government. CCG's mission is to help all mid-size and large corporations attain funds they should be claiming from the government by leveraging proprietary technology and processes.

CCG is a well established privately held company headquartered in Pasadena, California with a national presence and a best in class technology platform.

California Credits Group, LLC (CCG), the leading incentives company in California announced it was going to provide incentives services nationally to current clients and businesses throughout the U.S. In the past eight years, CCG secured over $500 million in government incentives for mid-size and large multi-national corporations. CCG built a reputation of maximizing government incentives and delivering world-class customer service to clients.

CCG was the industry pioneer in applying technology applications to bridge the void between government incentive funds and private industry. Prior to the existence of CCG's proprietary software and processes; capturing incentives dollars required filling out tens of thousands of government forms, applications, and certifications manually, leaving room for human error and discouraging the majority of business from participating due to the daunting task to qualify.

John Simpson, CCG's CEO, said "CCG was created because billions of dollars were not being claimed by businesses across the U.S." "This is due to lack of awareness of the different programs and absence of an efficient process to streamline this burdensome procedure." "The funds are clearly there for the taking but nobody has invested in automating the entire process on a national basis like we have," Simpson explains.

After successfully becoming the leader in California, Simpson and his team recognized the sophisticated technology platform designed for California incentive capture was scalable and could be utilized in all 50 states." "In my opinion, there is no reason every "for-profit" business in the U.S. should not be utilizing our services," Simpson stated.

About CCG, LLC.

CCG is a national company specializing in assisting all "for profit" business across the U.S. in capturing incentive dollars and tax credits available to them from the government. CCG's mission is to help all mid-size and large corporations attain funds they should be claiming from the government by leveraging proprietary technology and processes.

CCG is a well established privately held company headquartered in Pasadena, California with a national presence and a best in class technology platform.