Michigan Allows Sales Tax Credit For Vehicle Trade-Ins

Effective December 15, 2013, the value of a motor vehicle or RV taken as a trade-in toward the purchase of a new or used motor vehicle or RV will be exempt from sales tax up to $2,000 of the agreed value of the trade-in. The $2,000 amount will increase $500 per year on January 1, 2015 and by $500 each successive January 1 for 25 years until the exemption reaches $14,000 (unless Section 105d of the Social Welfare Act is repealed).  Leased motor vehicles or RVs will not qualify for this exemption.

As an example, on the sale of a $20,000 vehicle in 2014 with a $4,000 trade in, sales tax will be charged on $18,000 ($20,000 less the $2,000 exemption amount).

Dealers must file Form RD-108T Supplemental Vehicle Trade-In Sales Tax Credit Form with the RD-108 on any vehicle sales transaction with a sales tax trade-in credit.

Edward J. Castellani is an attorney and certified public accountant specializing in the representation of auto dealers. He may be contacted at 517-377-0845 or at ecast@fraserlawfirm.com.

Fraser Trebilcock Teamed Up with Crain’s Detroit Business for Health Care Webinar

This week, Fraser Trebilcock Attorney, Michael P. James teamed up with Crain’s Detroit Business for “Provider Bootcamp”, an informational comprehensive webinar tackling health care strategies for 2014.

Among the topics discussed:
– Changes to Medicaid and how it will increase demand for health care
– Strategies on how to forecast the demand for health services
– Overview of other elements of the Affordable Care Act that will impact health care providers

If you missed the presentation, you can watch it here. Click here to view Mr. James’ PowerPoint.

To find out more about the impact that the Affordable Care Act has on health care and your business, contact Health Care Department Chair Jonathan Raven at jraven@fraserlawfirm.com or 517.377.0816, or our Employee Benefits Department Co-Chair Elizabeth H. Latchana at elatchana@fraserlawfirm.com or 517.377.0826.

NOTE: Information contained in this presentation is only current as of the blog publish date. For updated information, refer to the Fraser Trebilcock Health Care Reform blog.

Scrap Metal Recyclers Support Stronger Metal Theft Law

A strengthened scrap metal bill, three years in the works, moved one step closer to law on Wednesday.

The goal of the bill is to provide law enforcement with better support to track and successfully prosecute metal thieves, who may steal metal property in one location, destructively turn it into scrap metal, and then attempt to sell it to metal recycling businesses in other locations.   A new and  important feature of the bill is creation of a new online database to track sales and purchases of certain types of items that are often, but by no means always, stolen.

“The reporting database is a very potent tool for law enforcement, already under way in other states.  In fact, a representative of the Michigan State Police actually referred me to one specific service available to law enforcement that could be helpful to the State of Michigan”, said Attorney Jonathan Raven of Fraser Trebilcock, on behalf of scrap processors.

Continue reading Scrap Metal Recyclers Support Stronger Metal Theft Law

Provider Reimbursement Strategies for 2014

We are just weeks away from the key implementation phase of the Affordable Care Act, and already we are starting to see how this massive law will affect providers’ incomes. Next Tuesday, join Fraser Trebilcock Attorney, Michael P. James and Crain’s Detroit Business for “Provider Bootcamp”, a comprehensive webinar tackling health care strategies for 2014.

Continue reading Provider Reimbursement Strategies for 2014

Obama Administration Announces Improvements Made to HealthCare.gov

The Obama administration announced over the weekend that the HealthCare.gov website is now working “smoothly for the vast majority of users”, and is dramatically improved from October 1st.

In preparation for Saturday’s deadline, there have been a variety of improvements made to the site, including a new management structure and hardware upgrades. The site’s capacity has also been improved to handle 50,000 concurrent users, and a minimum of 800,000 visitors per day. However, officials caution that the site is still a work in progress, and more updates will continue to be made to the back-end of the system to ensure that insurers are getting accurate information.

Continue reading Obama Administration Announces Improvements Made to HealthCare.gov