BECOMING A MEMBER OF RAM IS ONE OF THE BEST DECISIONS YOU CAN MAKE FOR YOUR BUSINESS.
By joining you gain access to exclusive, money saving discounts on services and programs, legislative updates and advocacy as well as valuable educational opportunities. We aim to help you grow and protect your business, promote the retail industry and save your business money.
REMINDER: Paid Family and Medical Leave Contributions Due January 31, 2020
RAM members are reminded that initial contributions for the newly established MA Paid Family and Medical Leave program are due on January 31st. Collected contributions for the first quarter of the program are to be submitted through the Department of Revenue’s MassTaxConnect portal. Businesses will report contributions in Box 14 (Other) for Form W-2 and Box 16 (State tax withheld) for Form 1099-MISC. The contribution line for both items should read MAPFML.
Members are urged to visit the Department of Revenue’s PFML information page for ongoing updates and guidance materials. This includes a MassTaxConnect screenshot with further clarification on where to insert information on the W-2 and 1099-MISC, video tutorials on registering and reporting, and an extensive list of FAQs which are updated as information becomes available.
RAM members will receive 3% savings
on health insurance premiums
starting Jan. 1
Over the past three decades, RAM’s MA Retail Merchants Workers Compensation Group has saved our members $129 million in premium. To provide members a similar solution for the rising cost of health insurance, RAM has been hard at work establishing the RAM Health Insurance Cooperative (RAMHIC). Having secured a deeper upfront premium discount and expanded plan options, we are confident that our 2020 RAMHIC offering will help save you money on your health insurance.
We are pleased to announce that starting January 1, 2020 premium rates on all health insurance plans offered through RAMHIC will come with an upfront discount of 3% for both renewals and new participating members. This represents a projected annual average savings of nearly $3,000 per participating business.
Information from our carriers is being mailed to members next week. Click here to view full mailing.
Flavored Tobacco Ban
If you sell cigarettes, know that special interests are pushing the Legislature to ban flavored tobacco—particularly menthol cigarettes. They are using the vaping issue as an excuse to do it, even though flavored vaping products are going away, and even though we recently went to a 21 sales age. Let the 21 sales age work, and keep the vaping and cigarette issues separate. At stake are choices for consumers, lost sales for small businesses, and hundreds of millions in lost tax dollars for the state. Urge your state Senator & Representative to support consumer choice and their local small businesses.
2019 RAM Awards of Excellence Winners
GOV. BAKER DECLARES PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY:
IMPOSES IMMEDIATE SALES BAN ON ALL VAPING PRODUCTS & DEVICES
Governor Charlie Baker declared a public health emergency exists with regard to e-cigarettes and vaping products. With the declaration, the Governor imposed an IMMEDIATE SALES BAN ON ALL VAPING PRODUCTS & DEVICES.
The declaration takes effect Tuesday, September 24, and will reportedly remain in effect for 120 days, yet the duration of the ban is at the discretion of the Governor.
All members are advised to immediately cease selling vaping products and devices.
How are your holiday sales progressing?
In an effort to adequately monitor and report on this year's retail holiday sales figures we periodically asked RAM members to provide us with sales gain/loss numbers over a same period one year ago.
This first 3 question survey is focused on November sales. Please check back and provide us your updated numbers throughout the holiday season.
Thank you for taking the time to provide us your holiday sales results. Wishing you a prosperous holiday season.
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