HOUSE BILL NO. 6305
October 14, 2020, Introduced by Reps. Allor,
Bellino, Paquette, Afendoulis, Sheppard, Leutheuser, Eisen, Yaroch and
Brann and referred to the Committee on Tax Policy.
A bill to amend 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1,
entitled
"Michigan employment security act,"
by amending section 13 (MCL 421.13), as amended by 2012 PA 493.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 13. (1) Each employer subject to this act shall
pay to the unemployment agency a tax in the form of payments in lieu of
contributions where if the employer is liable for those
payments, or shall pay tax
contributions equal to a standard rate of 2.7%
for calendar years before 1985 and 5.4% for calendar year 1985 and thereafter,
subject to an adjustment in rate of contributions at the rate as provided for in section 19. The contributions shall become due and must be paid to the unemployment agency,
for the unemployment compensation fund, by each employer semiannually or for
shorter periods of not less than 28 days, as the unemployment agency may by
rule prescribe. Contributions due and payable from an employer that is liable
under this act solely on the basis of the payment of wages for domestic service
may be paid annually on the date specified by the unemployment agency. An
obligation assessment payment made pursuant to section 10a or a contribution
payment made pursuant to this section shall must be
credited first to interest on the obligation assessment and then to the
obligation assessment, with those payments applied to amounts unpaid and owing
in the oldest calendar quarter and progressing each quarter to the most recent
quarter. Any remainder shall must be credited first to penalties on
contributions, then to interest on contributions, and then to contribution
principal, with those payments applied to amounts unpaid and owing in the
oldest calendar quarter and progressing each quarter to the most recent
quarter. An employer's contribution shall must not
be deducted directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from wages of
individuals in his or her employ. A contribution payment amount that is not an
even dollar amount shall must be credited to the account of the
employer in an amount equal to the next lower dollar amount if under 50 cents
and in an amount equal to the next higher dollar amount if 50 cents or more.
The unemployment agency may prescribe by rule the details of the computation
and payment of contributions. Every employing unit shall file with the
unemployment agency periodic reports on forms and at a time the unemployment
agency prescribes to disclose liability for contributions under this act. Each
employing unit shall keep records, including wage and employment records, and
shall, within prescribed time limits, submit or provide reports, including wage
and employment reports, to the unemployment agency or to the employing unit's
employees or former employees as the unemployment agency prescribes by rule.
(2) Beginning with the
first quarter of 1986, each employer shall file a quarterly wage report with
the unemployment agency, on forms and at a time as the unemployment agency
prescribes, which shall include for each of the employer's employees the
employee's name, social security Social Security number, gross wages paid
during each quarter, and the name, address, and federal and state employer
identification number of the individual's employer. If the unemployment agency
discovers an error in a report filed timely, the unemployment agency shall
provide written notification to the employer of the error. If the employer
provides corrected information within 14 days of the notification, the
administrative fine provided in section 54 for a late, incomplete, or erroneous
report shall does not apply. An employer having that has more than 25 employees on
January 1, 2013 shall file quarterly reports beginning with the report for the
first quarter of 2013 by an electronic method approved by the unemployment
agency. An employer having that has more than 5 but fewer than 26
employees on January 1, 2013 shall file quarterly reports beginning with the
report for the first quarter of 2014 by an electronic method approved by the
unemployment agency. An employer having that has 5
or fewer employees on January 1, 2013 shall file quarterly reports beginning
with the report for the first quarter of 2015 by an electronic method approved
by the unemployment agency, except that the director of the unemployment
agency, upon application by the employer, may grant additional time for the
employer to comply with the electronic filing method if the director concludes
that satisfying the requirement of electronic filing will cause economic
hardship for the employer. The employer shall provide, and the director shall
consider, information about the employer's anticipated cost expenditure for
preparing for electronic filing and about the employer's annual income. An
employer that complies with the reporting requirements of this subsection by
filing electronically a quarterly wage report using a method approved by the
unemployment agency is not required to file periodically to disclose
contributions under this act.
(3) The unemployment agency shall allow a contributing employer that employed 25 or fewer individuals during the pay period that includes January 12, 2012, or during the corresponding pay period in each succeeding calendar year, and that incurred 50% or more of the employer's total previous year's contribution obligation in the first quarter of that year to discharge the liability for contributions due in the next succeeding year through quarterly payments that distribute the payment of the first quarter's obligation equally over the 4 quarters in that year. To avoid interest and penalties otherwise applicable to those payments, an employer meeting the requirements of this subsection shall notify the unemployment agency of the election to make apportioned payments with the first quarter's payment and timely file each succeeding quarterly payment in the amounts prescribed in section 15a. This subsection applies to contributions beginning in the 2013 tax year. The unemployment agency shall include a description of the optional payment method described in this subsection on the form, whether electronic or otherwise, that it provides to contributing employers for the payment of taxes and contributions required under this section.