The Hawaii Tax & Charities Division is a state agency responsible for overseeing tax compliance and charitable organizations within the state of Hawaii. They work to ensure that individuals and organizations are meeting their tax obligations and operating within the regulations set forth by the state.
As of 2024, five US states require employers to provide short-term disability insurance to workers: California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. Eligibility requirements, employer contributions rates, and authorized providers vary by state—but in general, businesses with at least one non-owner employee who performs work in one of these states need to obtain coverage to maintain compliance with state law.
Payroll might seem like a straightforward process for business owners: Calculate hours, apply pay rates, factor in deductions. However, behind the scenes, proper payroll management involves thorough recordkeeping. It’s what keeps your business compliance up to date and protected.
Think of those records as your shield against the dreaded IRS audit. Painstaking recordkeeping demonstrates your commitment to running a responsible business. Plus, federal laws (like the FLSA) and an assortment of state requirements dictate how long you need to hold on to specific payroll documents. Slip-ups here can lead to hefty penalties and headaches.
Contractor work arrangements are popular. According to the US Government Accountability Office, about one-third of all businesses and almost 90% of Fortune 500 companies use independent contractors in some capacity. Hiring contractors can be a particularly attractive option for early-stage businesses because it allows them to leverage specialized skill sets while building their internal teams.
But contractors are very different from employees, and the two mustn’t be conflated—or hefty penalties can apply. While contractors are self-employed individuals or even incorporated business entities, employees are typically economically dependent on their employers and so are entitled to certain rights and protections under the law. For this reason, misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor is a compliance violation: It denies a worker rights to which they are otherwise entitled.
Gabrielle Sinacola |Aug 8, 2023
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