캘리포니아 상원 법안 37이 발의 되었다. 이 법안은 현재 8.84%인 법인세를 10.84%에서 14.84%로 인상 시키게 되며, 하원과 상원의 2/3 이상의 찬성표를 얻게 되면 정식 법안으로 채택되게 된다.

이 법안이 적용되게 되면, 2020년 1월 1일 이후의 과세연도에 과세소득이 천만불 ($10,000,000) 이상인 법인의 세율이 기존 8.84%에서 10.84%로 인상되게 된다. 또한, 법인의 급여 비율에 따라 최고 14.84%까지 인상될 수 있다.급여 비율은 법인 내의 급여가 어느정도의 차이가 있는지를 파악하는 척도라고 볼 수 있으며 이는 CEO, COO 혹은 제일 많은 급여를 받는 임직원의 급여를 전직원 급여의 중앙값으로 나누어서 계산된다. 합산신고를 하는 법인들의 경우에는 이러한 급여비율이 하나의 법인처럼 간주되어 계산되게 된다.

급여를 제일 많이 받는 사람의 급여와 급여의 중앙값에 차이가 많이 나게 될수록 법인의 적용세율은 높아지게 되며, 각각의 급여비율에 대한 세율은 다음과 같다.

또한, 미국내의 정직원의 감소 비율이 미국 내 계약직 혹은 해외 정직원의 인상비율보다 10% 이상 클 경우, 세율은 1.5배 인상되게 된다.

자세한 내용을 위해서는 아래의 링크를 클릭하십시오: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB37

The California Senate Bill 37 (the “Bill”), which may potentially increase Corporate tax rate from current 8.84% to a range of 10.84% to 14.84, has been proposed.  The Bill will be enacted if approved by a 2/3 vote in each house of the California Legislature.

The Bill, if enacted, would subject the corporations with taxable income of $10,000,000 or more for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020 to an increased rate ranging from 8.84% to 10.84%.  The tax increase would be based on the corporation’s compensation ratio, which is determined by taking the greater of the compensation of the CEO, COO, or highest paid employee divided by the median compensation of all employees of the corporation.  Note that for combined reporting filers, the compensation ratio would be determined as if the taxpayers were a single taxpayer.

The higher the disparity between the highest paid individual and the median work is, the higher corporate tax rate the corporation would be subject to.   The applicable tax rate would be determined as follows:

Furthermore, the Bill would increase those new applicable tax rates by a factor of 1.5 for those taxpayers that have a more than 10% decrease in full-time employees employed in the United States as compared to an increase in contracted employees or foreign full-time employees.

To view the actual text of the Bill, please click the link below.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB37

FASB issued Accounting Standard Update 2020-1 (“ASU”) which clarifies the interaction between accounting standards for equity securities (under Topics 321) and equity method investment (under Topics 323).  The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020 for public entities and for the fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021 for all other entities.

ASC 321 provides a measurement alternative that allows equity securities without a readily determinable fair value to be measured at cost, less any impairment, unless an observable transaction for an identical or similar security occurred.  When the observable transaction occurs, the equity security would be measured at fair value at the date of that transaction.

The ASU clarify that an entity should consider observable transactions that require it to either apply or discontinue the equity method of accounting for the purposes of applying the measurement alternative in accordance with Topic 321 immediately before applying or upon discontinuing the equity method.

For example, if an ownership change occurs that results in a company’s applying or discontinuing the equity method, the carrying amount of the investment would be adjusted to its fair value immediately before applying or discontinuing the equity method.

Please click the link below to view the text of ASU 2020-1.  https://www.fasb.org/jsp/FASB/Document_C/DocumentPage?cid=1176174044348&acceptedDisclaimer=true

For a diagram illustrating the new guidance (prepared by Stout), please click here. The original article by Stout can be reached here.

The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) which replaces the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been approved by the Senate on January 16, 2020 and the President Trump is expected to sign it shortly.

The USMCA retains most of the preferential tariff provisions in NAFTA, except for non-tariff measures in the areas of intellectual property rights and enforcement, automotive, logistics, and pharmaceuticals.  Once the USMCA is signed, enterprises can expect an stability going forward in the trades between the three countries, at least for the next 16 years (USMCA contains a sunset provision that takes effect in 16 years).

The text of the USMCA can be found at https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/united-states-mexico-canada-agreement/agreement-between.