Windham Region Chamber of Commerce

DianeN

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SLICE OF LIFE Living History Event in Windham, CT

The Slice of Life is a look into the everyday life of folks in Eastern CT in the early 1800’s.  You can meet and talk with actors of people who lived in our community during that time period, ask them questions, help them with their “chores” and be a part of history.  The event will be held on Saturday, April 30 from 10:00 AM-4:00 PM in Windham, CT.

Our region of CT has so many interesting stories that we want to share with you.  This living history event will be held at three different locations.  Spend part of your day or the whole day with your family learning about life in Eastern CT in 1830.  You can be a part of a town meeting, learn how they made bonnets, learn a lesson in a schoolhouse, go to a wealthy family’s house and learn how to dip candles, do your laundry (without machines!), play a musical instrument, make herbal teas to cure your illnesses, learn how to weave, bake bread, make soap and preserve food.  Join us in Windham Center for a wedding, some famous artwork, and visit the doctor!  You can even hear some ghost stories.  Did you know that horsed used to pull the trains on the tracks?  You will be able to talk to real live people and ask them question, listen to their stories, and learn lots of fun and amazing new things!

The event is free for people under 18 years, and $10 for anyone over 18 years.  Admission includes access to all events, people and museums.  We really appreciate your contribution to keeping these wonderful historical places available for all to enjoy!  You can register HERE or with cash on the day of the event.  You can start anywhere you want as most of the activities will be going on throughout the day.  However, there are only 2 official town hall meetings so don’t miss them!  Here are the locations:

Windham Town Hall, 979 Main Street (Town meetings at 10:00 and 2:00)
Jillson House, 627 Main Street
Windham Center, Rt. 14 & Rt. 203

This event is brought to you by the The Partnership for Arts and Culture, a nonprofit group whose mission is to promote the arts, history and culture of Eastern CT.  It is a collaboration between The Windham Region Partnership For Arts & Culture, Windham Arts, Windham Region Chamber of Commerce Foundation, The America Museum, CT Eastern Railroad Museum, Windham Historical Society, Town of Windham, Arts & Entertainment Commission, Windham Preservation, Dr. Chester Hunt Museum.

   

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STANDARD MILEAGE RATES FOR 2022 & OTHER MILEAGE TAX INFO

The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2022 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2022, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:

• 58.5 cents per mile driven for business use, up 2.5 cents from the rate for 2021,
• 18 cents per mile driven for medical, or moving purposes for qualified active-duty members of the Armed Forces, up 2 cents from the rate for 2021 and
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations; the rate is set by statute and remains unchanged from 2021.

The standard mileage rate for business use is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs.

It is important to note that under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, taxpayers cannot claim a miscellaneous itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee travel expenses. Taxpayers also cannot claim a deduction for moving expenses, unless they are members of the Armed Forces on active duty moving under orders to a permanent change of station. For more details see Moving Expenses for Members of the Armed Forces.

Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates.

Taxpayers can use the standard mileage rate but must opt to use it in the first year the car is available for business use. Then, in later years, they can choose either the standard mileage rate or actual expenses. Leased vehicles must use the standard mileage rate method for the entire lease period (including renewals) if the standard mileage rate is chosen.

Notice 22-03, contains the optional 2022 standard mileage rates, as well as the maximum automobile cost used to calculate the allowance under a fixed and variable rate (FAVR) plan. In addition, the notice provides the maximum fair market value of employer-provided automobiles first made available to employees for personal use in calendar year 2022 for which employers may use the fleet-average valuation rule in or the vehicle cents-per-mile valuation rule.

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DID YOU KEEP ANY OF YOUR EMPLOYEES THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC? YOU NEED TO READ THIS!

We have been speaking to a lot of businesses in the past several months because there are so many new laws, because they can’t find good employees, etc.  BUT one thing we are finding that hardly anyone knows about (even though we have written stories on this) is the

EMPLOYEE RETENTION TAX CREDIT

Let us get your attention.  We worked with a business who was unaware of this tax credit and after filing they received a $150,000 refund from the government.  Another business received $50,000.  This is some SERIOUS money!  If you kept employees during the pandemic you need to ask your CPA or tax expert about this credit.  Or if you like reading government documents, you can read the bulletin from the IRS (there are support groups for this kind of desire)…… GO HERE.

The Employee Retention Credit is a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes equal to 50% of the qualified wages an eligible employer pays to employees.  This credit was extended so it is still in effect.

Eligible employers can now claim a refundable tax credit against the employer share of Social Security tax equal to 70% of the qualified wages they pay to employees after December 31, 2020, through June 30, 2021. Qualified wages are limited to $10,000 per employee per calendar quarter in 2021. Thus, the maximum ERC amount available is $7,000 per employee per calendar quarter, for a total of $14,000 in 2021.

Employers can access the ERC for the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2021 prior to filing their employment tax returns by reducing employment tax deposits. Small employers (i.e., employers with an average of 500 or fewer full-time employees in 2019) may request advance payment of the credit (subject to certain limits) on Form 7200, Advance of Employer Credits Due to Covid-19, after reducing deposits. In 2021, advances are not available for employers larger than this.

Effective January 1, 2021, employers are eligible if they operate a trade or business during January 1, 2021, through June 30, 2021, and experience either:

  1. A full or partial suspension of the operation of their trade or business during this period because of governmental orders limiting commerce, travel or group meetings due to COVID-19, or
  2. A decline in gross receipts in a calendar quarter in 2021 where the gross receipts of that calendar quarter are less than 80% of the gross receipts in the same calendar quarter in 2019 (to be eligible based on a decline in gross receipts in 2020 the gross receipts were required to be less than 50%).

Employers that did not exist in 2019 can use the corresponding quarter in 2020 to measure the decline in their gross receipts. In addition, for the first and second calendar quarters in 2021, employers may elect in a manner provided in future IRS guidance to measure the decline in their gross receipts using the immediately preceding calendar quarter (i.e., the fourth calendar quarter of 2020 and first calendar quarter of 2021, respectively) compared to the same calendar quarter in 2019.

In addition, effective January 1, 2021, the definition of qualified wages was changed to provide:

  • For an employer that averaged more than 500 full-time employees in 2019, qualified wages are generally those wages paid to employees that are not providing services because operations were fully or partially suspended or due to the decline in gross receipts.
  • For an employer that averaged 500 or fewer full-time employees in 2019, qualified wages are generally those wages paid to all employees during a period that operations were fully or partially suspended or during the quarter that the employer had a decline in gross receipts regardless of whether the employees are providing services.

Retroactive to the March 27, 2020, enactment of the CARES Act, the law now allows employers who received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to claim the ERC for qualified wages that are not treated as payroll costs in obtaining forgiveness of the PPP loan.

For more information, see COVID-19-Related Employee Retention Credits: How to Claim the Employee Retention Credit FAQs​​​​​​.

If you would like to speak to someone to explain how this works, you can contact Bill Correll at 860-428-9541 or bill@pds2k.com.

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DO YOU OWE ANY CT TAXES FROM 2020 OR BEFORE? THERE IS HELP

The pandemic has been tough on us all, but now’s the time to get right. If you owe back taxes for periods up to and including 2020, the State of CT Department of Revenue Services is offering a limited window of opportunity to pay up at reduced interest with no penalties and no criminal prosecution.

The Connecticut tax amnesty program begins Monday, November 1, 2021, and ends Monday, January 31, 2022.

Benefits of enrolling in this program include:

  • Reduction of the interest by 75%.
  • Elimination of all penalties associated with liabilities satisfied under the Connecticut tax amnesty program.
  • Avoidance of criminal prosecution.

Any tax period ending on or before December 31, 2020 is eligible for this assistance. There is no limit on how far back an applicant may go in reporting back taxes.

The following are eligible:

  • Individuals or businesses that owe taxes and are required by law to file a tax return with DRS – within an eligible tax period – but have not filed. Individuals or businesses that previously filed a tax return with DRS – for an eligible tax period – but did not report all the tax that was due.
  • Individuals or businesses that currently have an unpaid tax liability with DRS that includes tax and penalty and/or interest.
  • Individuals or businesses currently under audit by DRS for periods ending on or before December 31, 2020.
  • Any individual or business with a protest pending before DRS’s Appellate Division.
  • Any individual taxpayer or business currently pursuing civil litigation with DRS.

The following taxpayers are not eligible to participate:

  • Anyone currently under criminal investigation by DRS.
  • Anyone who is party to any criminal litigation pending as of November 1, 2021.
  • Anyone who is party to a closing agreement with DRS.
  • Anyone who has made an Offer of Compromise that has been accepted by DRS.
  • Anyone who is party to a managed audit agreement.

As a general rule, most taxes administered by DRS are eligible for amnesty. Examples of taxes administered by DRS that are eligible:

  • Business use tax
  • Cigarette tax
  • Corporation business tax
  • Gift tax
  • Income tax (individuals, estates, and trusts)
  • Individual use tax
  • Motor vehicle fuels tax
  • Sales and use tax
  • Withholding tax
  • Pass-through entity tax

Connecticut motor carrier road tax (IFTA) is not eligible.

For more information or to enroll in the program GO HERE.

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MAPLE FESTIVAL IS MARCH 19-20!!

This year’s Hebron Maple Festival will be held March 19-20, 2022 in the Hebron Town Green.  This is the 30th year of the festival and with almost 8000 visitors at our last event in 2019 before the pandemic, we were the “hottest” thing to do in Connecticut in March.  We hope that you will pencil us in on your calendar and that we see you having fun, tasting maple, learning from the maple sugar houses, and staying happy and healthy while enjoying the beautiful outdoors in March.  We are open both days from 10:00 AM-4:00 PM rain, snow or shine!

This event is a great opportunity for non-profits and charitable groups to do some very effective fundraising.  With so many guests, you have an audience to share your mission with and to sell some “mapley” wonders to support it.  Businesses can get their name out in front of both locals and folks from across the region.

Vendor information:  Each vendor will be given a 10 x 10 space and you will be required to provide your own tent, tables, chairs, signage and displays.  Participation for both days is only $75 per vendor.  Food trucks and vendors selling substantial food items pay $250.  You must participate in both days of the festival.  Set up starts on Saturday at 7:30 AM and you must be completely set up by 9:30 AM with your car out of the festival area.  And you must stay until the end at 4:00 PM.  There is parking nearby for vendors.  Vendor space is limited so please register early.  You can sign up online HERE or you can text/call 860-428-7739, or email info@windhamchamber.com.

If you want to attend, the event is free.  Parking is at RHAM High School with buses shuttling back and forth to the festival every five minutes.  There is handicap parking in the lot across the street from the Library.  We are mostly accessible for those in wheelchairs or other assistive devices but if there is snow it may be difficult to get around.  Vendors are required to take any COVID precautions required and we are OUTDOORS so you can enjoy fresh air and fun safely.

The festival features:  lots of maple food including maple cannolis, maple kettle korn, maple baked goods, fudge, cotton candy, and other sweets, maple baked beans, maple milk, maple sundaes and maple bacon; there is also artists, crafters, farmers and small businesses with a huge variety of goods including goat soap, candles, BBQ sauce, stained glass, face painting, jewelry, clothing and veteran themed items.

The Historical Society hosts a quilt show and sale, AHM hosts a nature themed day of events, there will be local maple sugar houses hosting demonstrations, and on Sunday we have the LARGEST TRACTOR PARADE IN THE COUNTRY!  The Hebron Maple Festival is fun for families and kids of all ages….especially anyone who loves the taste of pure maple sugar.

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WANT TO HIRE SOME OF THE BEST GRADUATING COLLEGE STUDENTS?

The Connecticut Governor’s Workforce Council has partnered with AdvanceCT to provide the CampusCT mobile experience through UpperCampus to create a destination for Connecticut students to gain exposure to all of the incredible companies and career opportunities that exist in Connecticut, with accompanying professional development and lifestyle curated content to connect the student to the community.

Connecticut students preparing to enter the workforce will have special access to the CampusCT section of the UpperCampus Explore app. Designed to look and feel like popular social media apps, students can scroll through
an expansive library of career, lifestyle and company related content that will help them envision a successful career right here in Connecticut. The CampusCT initiative will host several live events – employer sponsored
networking, group mixers, employer lunch and learns, and onsite tours – throughout the year to complement the CampusCT app and allow students to truly experience all that the State offers.

WHAT’S INCLUDED:
• A brand page complete with your logo & company overview, address/contact info, corporate website link, & company social media links
• 5 (five) employer starter stories for launch (includes ”About us”, mission, corporate culture, diversity & inclusion)
• 4 (four) additional employer stories per month (includes employee spotlights, internship program information, microcampaigns to create a narrative of who you are)

PRICING: (ANNUALLY)
UpperCampus Pro (250 or more employees): $5,000
UpperCampus for Small Business (under 250 Employees): $1,500

Reach out to AdvanceCT for more info–email Lmercurio@advancect.org.