America's billionaires pay an average income tax rate of just 8.2%, Biden administration says

The wealthiest 400 families in the United States are paying an average income tax rate of just 8.2%, according to a new analysis from the Biden administration. President Joe Biden and Democrats are pushing to raise taxes on the richest Americans as they look for ways to pay for their ambitious agenda, making its way through Congress as a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package.  READ MORE

Wall Street Pay Clawback Rule to Get New Push at SEC

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said he is keen to finish a long-stalled requirement to clamp down on Wall Street bonuses when companies report incorrect financial information.

Gensler said he’s asked SEC staff to provide recommendations on a rule for clawing back executive pay and other parts of never-finished regulations that were mandatory under the Dodd-Frank Act. Specifically, Gensler said he wants to make sure that executives return any funds they are overpaid when a company publishes incorrect information in its financial statements. READ MORE

The future of salary transparency has arrived

Most of us would argue that negotiating your salary is one of the most nerve-wracking parts of the hiring process. You Google salary ranges, dig through Glassdoor for even more intel, and finally throw out a number…all to later worry that your coworkers are being paid more than you.

Aki Ito, a senior correspondent at Insider, admitted in a recent piece that the negotiation process for her current gig was tricky. READ MORE

How Much It Takes to Be in the Top 1% in Income

Democrats are in the middle of a major effort to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans to help offset the cost of their proposed expansion of the social safety net. “How is it possible for millionaires and billionaires that can pay a lower rate of tax than teachers, firefighters, or law enforcement officers?” President Joe Biden asked during remarks on the economy delivered at the White House last week. “Big corporations and the super wealthy have to start paying their fair share of taxes. It’s long overdue,” he added. READ MORE

IRS Updates Nonqualified Plan Audit Technique Guide—Is A New Enforcement Initiative On The Horizon?

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently updated its Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Audit Techniques Guide (NQDC). It released Publication 5528 (NQDC guide) on June 1, 2021. The IRS last updated the NQDC Guide in 2015. Interestingly, the 2015 NQDC Guide was published shortly after the IRS sent information document requests to publicly traded companies to determine how well companies were complying with Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 409A. This latest update to the NQDC guide contains much more detailed guidance than the prior version. That is noteworthy because President Joe Biden and many members of Congress have been proposing to increase the IRS's budget in order to provide more resources for audit initiatives. Could a new executive compensation enforcement initiative be on its way?

If so, employers need to be prepared with the following steps: READ MORE

Amazon’s AI Cameras Are Punishing Drivers for Mistakes They Didn’t Make

In early 2021, Amazon installed AI-powered cameras in the delivery vans at one of its depots in Los Angeles. Derek, a delivery driver at the facility, said the camera in his van started to incorrectly penalize him whenever cars cut him off, an everyday occurrence in Los Angeles traffic. 

“Maintain safe distance,” the camera installed above his seat would say when a car cut him off. That data would be sent to Amazon, and would be used to evaluate his performance that week and determine whether he got a bonus.  READ MORE

Does Your State Prohibit Asking Salary History?

Nevada and Rhode Island will soon join the growing list of state and local governments prohibiting employers from requesting salary history from applicants, the most common form of pay equity legislation. As employers transition to remote workforces and attract applicants from across the country, recruiters should be mindful that requesting or relying upon compensation history from applicants may be off-limits or only available under a narrow set of circumstances. READ MORE

Three Ways To Close The Pay-Benefits Gap And Celebrate Your Workforce

It’s high time to celebrate the American workforce. While there are pockets of differentiation by industries, by and large, the average worker is making well-deserved gains. First, many have survived the existential threat of the pandemic, which unfortunately continues to affect where and how we work. But the American worker remains in the driver’s seat. In early August the government reported payrolls rose at the highest pace in a year. For hourly workers, companies like Kroger and Starbucks are offering signing bonuses and pay raises. Even in the hard-hit hospitality business, wages are up 6.6% over the past two years. READ MORE

Manufacturers plan to boost wages at record 3.5% rate

Employers making final decisions about pay levels for 2022 confront big challenges in hiring and retention from one of the tightest labor markets in decades.

The number of U.S. job openings rose to a record high of 10.9 million at the end of July, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Sept. 8, as the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 discouraged many workers from employment. BLS has tracked information dating back to 2000. READ MORE

Salaries for College Graduates Climb Amid Labor Shortages

Starting salaries for new college graduates in the U.S. rose as business growth resumed this year, despite the continuing pandemic, and as employers confronted labor shortages.

Overall, the average starting salary for the college Class of 2020 was $55,260, according to a recent report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

The Summer 2021 NACE Salary Survey report shows that the average starting pay for Class of 2020 graduates was 2.5 percent above the average starting salary of $53,889 for the Class of 2019 and up 8.5 percent from the Class of 2018's final average starting salary of $50,944. READ MORE

'Tax the rich?' Sorry, AOC, but we already do

When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted a photo of her unmasked self wearing a white dress marked with “TAX THE RICH” in blood-red letters, she at least made sure to praise the help — her dressmaker, who of course was there with her in the photo, wearing a mask.

Ocasio-Cortez then wore her dress that night to an event with millionaires and billionaires at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum — again, not wearing a mask, because as every good Democrat knows, masks are for the help. READ MORE