Author: Christie Pugh

Unless things change, effective January 2013, several provisions of legislation like the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (2001), the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act (2011) and the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act (2012) will expire December 31, 2012 creating changes in your net pay.  We want to ensure employees are aware of the expiring tax cuts to allow you to plan and are notifying you now of the changes that are may take effect January 2013.   Among the possible changes are:

Income Tax Cuts – Income tax brackets will increase.  The lowest bracket is currently 10% and is set to revert to 15%.  All other brackets will also increase.

• Payroll Tax “Holiday” – This “holiday”, enjoyed by employees for the past two years, provided for a 4.2% Social Security tax withholding rate.  The Social Security tax rate will revert to 6.2% and the Medicare will remain 1.45%. 
• The pretax medical flexing spend limit is set to decrease to $2,500.
• Educational Assistance – Non-job-related educational assistance becomes fully taxable to the employee. UMW is working to revise our policy to comply with the new regulations.

Employees are encouraged to be prepared to have less take home pay beginning with the first pay date in January. We will keep you posted as to any changes as they become known. 

Sincerely, 

Allyson P. Moerman, CPA.CITP, CGFM

Associate Vice President for Finance and Controller

University of Mary Washington

1301 College Avenue

Fredericksburg, VA 22401

(540)654-1212

(540)654-1162 – fax

Finance

The following message is from the Division of Administration and Finance:

Early in the week of November 18, a set of University keys, as well as a number of other personal items, were stolen from an employee’s vehicle while off campus. Included were several master keys, which would allow access to many of the buildings on campus. Since this theft occurred in an adjoining county, and the preliminary investigation by the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office indicated juvenile misconduct with no additional criminal intent, we did not believe an imminent danger was posed to the campus community.  However, taking precaution as soon as the theft was reported, additional security personnel were brought onto campus, and they remain in place.  At the same time, plans were made to begin rekeying all exterior doors on campus as soon as possible. The primary vendor for this project has been on site since Tuesday and plans to complete the rekeying by Friday. We will notify impacted occupants of buildings as access protocols change over the next several days.

This recent incident has accelerated the timing of the rekeying project, which had been planned for next year.  While the cost of the project is unknown at this time, the University has reserve funds that are set aside for such emergencies. This undertaking will not impact student tuition, fees, or room charges.

The installation of an electronic key administration system will significantly reduce the need for carrying keys and will track individual keys that are removed from the system. 

I appreciate your patience as we perform the work.

Thank you,

Richard R. Pearce

Vice President for Administration and Finance and CFO