Van Pools Blog
Friday Update: Commuter Subsidy
December 17th, 2010 9 CommentsBy Jon Martz, Vice President of Government Relations
LATE BREAKING NEWS: At 4 pm EST on Friday, December 17th, U.S. President Barack Obama signed the bill which provided a two-year extension of the Bush/Middle class tax cuts and included in that bill is a provision extending parity between the transit/vanpool and parking portion of the transportation fringe benefit at a level of $230/month for additional 1-year.
In 2009, as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the transit/vanpool tax benefit was increased from $120 per month to $230 per month – matching the amount allowed for parking expenses. That provision was set to expire at the end of this year (2010).
Update On Commuter Choice Subsidy
December 16th, 2010 0 CommentsYesterday, December 15th, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly (81 Yea – 19 Nay) passed a sweeping tax package, which extends the “Bush-era tax rates” for two more years.
Of relevance to our customers, the bill extends through 2011 the increase in the monthly inclusion for employer provided transit and vanpool benefits, which equals the exclusion of employer-provided parking benefits (up to $230 per month).
It is expected the House will vote on the Senate bill today, Thursday, December 16th.
Vanpoolers affected by this legislation should contact their benefits administrator regarding any new procedures required to avail themselves of the continued benefit allowance.
Stay tuned. We will let you know of the vote in the House of Representatives, as soon as we know.
Don’t Forget To Sign The Commuter Benefit Petition
November 30th, 2010 1 CommentWe know how important the commuter benefits are to our vanpoolers. It’s nice to see we’re not the only ones wanting to get these benefits extended. Here is a great story from Edenred, a commuter benefits company. After reading this article, please take a minute to sign the petition below to show your support for maintaining the mass transit benefit at the current $230 per month maximum.
BOSTON, Nov 29, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Edenred, the provider of the premier commuter benefits programs, Commuter Check and WiredCommute, urges Congress to take action on transit benefit parity. Workers nationwide who commute using public transportation and vanpools to their jobs and participate in an employer-sponsored pre-tax transit benefit will have less to celebrate on New Year’s Day.
In February of 2009, the transit benefit pre-tax “cap” was increased as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) from $120 per month to $230 per month matching the amount allowed for parking expenses. This benefit, lead by Congressman Jim McGovern of Massachusetts (D), is set to expire at the end of 2010 and return to $120 per month. Thousands of commuters and employers will see a significant drop in their pre-tax savings. It is estimated that some commuters will see up to a 22 percent increase in the cost of commuting (assuming a national tax rate average of 31.6 percent).
Thank You Army Wife Network!
January 15th, 2010 0 Comments
VPSI and its military-focused website, Militaryvanpool.com, was featured on Monday evening, January 11th, as the Army Wife Network’s Army Wife Talk Radio (AWTR) “Resource of the Week”. The show is available as a AWTR podcast here. AWTR host Melanie Kish interviewed Michael Norvell, VPSI’s Vice President of Business Development, about how the Department of Defense (DoD) expanded the Commuter Choice tax-free transportation benefit for qualified transportation like vanpooling to all civilian employees and military service members throughout the nation. Today, more than 700 VPSI vanpools are in service with groups of military and DoD civilians at 73 different military installations throughout the country. Militaryvanpool.com features “Vanpool Listings” pages with detailed rosters of vans, and where these vanpool groups originate, commuting to each of these 73 Army, Navy and Air Force bases. Read More
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