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Recovery Act Grant to Save or Create Justice Related Illinois Jobs

Published by Damien in Business, Business News, Career, Jobs and Careers on October 5th, 2011 | No Comments »

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that more than $50.1 million in Recovery Act funds will go to the State of Illinois to maintain or increase public safety in the state, while creating or retaining jobs within the law enforcement community. These Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program funds are part of more than $4 billion in Justice Department Recovery Act funds available to assist state, local and tribal law enforcement and for other criminal justice activities that help to prevent crime and improve the criminal justice system in the United States while supporting the creation of jobs and much needed resources for states and local communities.

As submitted in their application, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) plans to support proven and innovative evidence-based programs that create or preserve jobs; address a defined priority area; identify need through use of validated statistics; present realistic and measurable goals and objectives, as well as, the methods for measuring; present a justifiable budget; demonstrate a history of reliability and responsibility; and persuasively present a need for funding. The ICJIA Board, composed of the major stakeholders in the criminal justice system, will continue to review, analyze, and discuss general priorities and specific initiatives, and the Federal and State Grants Unit will oversee the administration of Recovery Act JAG funds. Coordination and oversight efforts will be reported to the Governor’s Office. Illinois is required to provide a portion of the $50.1 million to the local jurisdictions.

“By addressing Illinois’ economic challenges while simultaneously meeting the state’s public safety priorities, these funds represent the best of what the Recovery Act can do for our communities,” Attorney General Eric Holder said. “This vital funding will help fight crime and build safer communities, and we look forward to continued work with Illinois to address these criminal justice goals.”

The procedure for allocating JAG grants is based on a formula of population and violent crime statistics, in combination with a minimum allocation to ensure that each state and territory receives an appropriate share of funding. Sixty percent of the allocation is awarded directly to a state and 40 percent is set aside for units of local government. States are required to sub-grant a portion of the funds to local units of government, such as a city, county, township or town. Faith-based and other community organizations are also eligible to receive pass-through funding from the state, as are Tribal governments.

All local Recovery Act JAG awards will be announced at a later date. The deadline for local units of government to submit their Recovery Act applications to the Department of Justice has been extended to June 17, 2009. The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, established the previous deadline of May 18 to encourage early submission of applications in an effort to provide economic stimulus as soon as possible. Because this is a non-competitive formula grant program, the extension of this deadline does not impact either eligibility or funding determinations. For more local solicitation information, visit http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/recoveryJAG/JAGrecoveryLocal.pdf

The JAG Program is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions and is managed by BJA. JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system, from multi-jurisdictional drug and gang task forces to crime prevention and domestic violence programs, courts, corrections, treatment, and justice information sharing initiatives. Projects may address crime through the provision of services directly to individuals and/or communities and by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal justice systems, processes, and procedures. For more details on the JAG Program or to track the use of Recovery Act funds, visit www.ojp.gov/recovery. For more details on how to apply for the state managed, pass-through funding, visit http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/saa/index.htm.

The Office of Justice Programs, headed by Acting Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson, provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP has five component bureaus: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office for Victims of Crime. Additionally, OJP has two program offices: the Community Capacity Development Office, which incorporates the Weed and Seed strategy, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). More information can be found at www.ojp.gov.

Press

Tags: act funds, criminal justice activities, criminal justice information, criminal justice system, economic challenges, edward byrne memorial, eric holder, fight crime, illinois criminal justice, information authority, justice assistance, measurable goals, oversight efforts, priority area, recovery act, safer communities, state grants, today announced that, tribal law enforcement

New Tax Table May Draw Violent Reactions

Published by Damien in Business Administration, Business News, Financing on September 26th, 2011 | No Comments »

It is the time for filing taxes but most tax payers are familiar with the old table. Apparently there is a new tax table released and while employers may make the necessary adjustments, the employees may not be as understanding especially during these hard times when everyone seems to be gasping for cash.

Employers will soon be (or have already commenced) using the tables in IRS Publication 15-T (New Wage Withholding and Advanced Earned Income Credit Payment Tables for wages paid through December 2009). The new tables reflect the Making Work Pay Credit (MWPC) that was adopted as part of the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

However, some employees will discover that their withholding and take-home pay haven’t changed at all, even though they will be entitled to the full credit. Others may need to file new Form W-4s in order to avoid being underwithheld. “This could result in new headaches for payroll departments and employees alike,” says Bob Trinz, Senior Tax Analyst from the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters.

The analysts at the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters have performed some calculations under the old and new withholding tables to get a clearer picture of how employees’ take-home pay will be affected. In these sample calculations, it is assumed that the employee is paid weekly and that the new withholding tables will be used for 40 weeks in 2009. All of the calculations use the percentage method under the new withholding tables and those that were in effect before enactment of the 2009 Recovery Act.

Here are some scenario examples:

Example A: Lower Paid Employee, One Job Only: An employee who is single, claims one withholding allowance, and makes $45,000 a year will see a $10.20 increase in his take-home pay. That works out to $408 for the balance of the year, slightly more than the $400 MWPC credit he will be entitled to when he files his 2009 return.

Example B: Employee With Multiple Jobs: The employee in the previous illustration also has a part-time job paying $15,000 a year, and he also claims one withholding allowance at this job. His weekly take-home pay at the second job will increase by $8.70, or $348 for the year. The employee’s total withholding will be reduced by $756 ($408 for the main job, and $348 for the second job), but he will only be able to claim a $400 credit on his personal income tax return. As a result, the employee may want to consider filing a new Form W-4 to have more withholding taken out of his pay.

“The employee is receiving a withholding tax reduction in excess of the allowable credit because the MWPC is taken into account in the withholding calculations of each employer,” Trinz notes.

Example C: Higher Paid Employee, One Job Only: A married employee earns $100,000 a year at one employer and claims four withholding allowances. His wife is a homemaker. This employee will see a $15.35 increase in take-home pay, or a total of $614 extra for the year, even though he will be able to claim a full $800 MWPC credit on the 2009 return.

“The tables appear to be engineered so that they will generate a maximum increase in take-home pay of about $400 for a single employee, and $600 for married taxpayers filing jointly, even though the maximum MWPC for the latter is $800,” says Trinz.

Example D: Working Couples: A married couple who each earn $75,000 a year each claim two withholding allowances. Each spouse will receive a $614 withholding tax reduction. Their combined withholding reduction will be $1,228, but the maximum credit they can claim on their 2009 personal income tax return is $800. One or both of these individuals may want to consider filing a new Form W-4 to increase withholding.

“This is another situation where the withholding tax reduction exceeds the allowable credit, because the MWPC is taken into account in the withholding calculations of each employer,” says Trinz.

Example E: Joint Filers With Only One Earner: A married couple earns $150,000, all of it generated by the wife, who claims four withholding allowances. The couple receives $5.39 extra each week ($215.60 for the balance of the year), even though they may claim an $800 credit on their 2009 personal income tax return (assuming their modified AGI doesn’t exceed $150,000). The working spouse may want to consider submitting a new Form W-4 to reduce withholding.

“This result occurs because some of the working spouse’s income is being taxed at a higher bracket using the new withholding tables,” says Trinz.

(Source) Press