DE Ponderings by Kevin Kessler

As we start a new year, I thought I’d share a few items of importance and interest:

1. Mileage rates: The business rate for mileage reimbursement beginning Jan. 1 is 57.5 cents. The rate for medical and moving is 23 cents and for volunteers the rate is 14 cents.
2. Contributions of $250 or more: A donor making a single contribution (or accumulated amounts on the same date) totaling $250 or more to a church must have written acknowledgement provided to them. The required written statement must include the following:
   1. Name of the organization
   2. Amount of the cash contribution
   3. Description (but not the value) of non-cash contribution
   4. Statement that no goods or services were provided by the organization in return for the contribution, if that was the case.
   5. One of these statements: “only intangible religious benefits were received by the donor” or “value of tangible benefit donor received was $______.
      Contact the district office for sample statements.
3. Pre-tax reimbursement of health insurance premiums for individual insurance policies is not allowed under the Affordable Care Act:
   1. Starting in 2014 the new healthcare legislation known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), now requires employers, in certain situations, to report the cost of providing medical insurance for employees as regular income to those employees. Who is impacted by this change? Those employers who purchase an individual medical insurance policy directly for their employee(s) or reimburse their employee(s) for the cost of an individual medical insurance policy must now report the money spent for this coverage as regular income paid to the employee(s). Please note: If your church provides medical insurance through a group plan, there is no change to the way that expense is treated for tax purposes.
   2. Employers who continue to offer reimbursement or pay for an employee’s individual plan with pre-tax dollars are considered in violation of the ACA and may be subject to an excise tax of $100 per day per violation for each employee participating in such an arrangement—as much as $36,500 per employee per year.
   3. Any salary adjustments as a result of complying with the ACA will affect pension contributions and amounts reported on the W-2 forms.
   4. The district office has additional information and material to share on this subject. It is also highly recommended that a professional tax accountant and/or attorney be consulted as decisions are made regarding this matter.
4. A short bibliography of books I read in 2014 that I found interesting and/or helpful:
   • Christianity
     The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey (Had read previously. Thoroughly enjoy Yancey’s thoughts on Jesus. One of my favorite authors.)
   • Science
     The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert (A look at periods of animal extinction and at animal species that are in rapid decline today. The author considers various and possible causes.)
   • Novel
     The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (The power of the printed word on the mind and life of a young girl during a time when books were banned.)
   • Pastoral Helps
     The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction; Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work; Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity; Under the Unpredictable Plant: An Exploration in Vocational Holiness. (These 4 books are written by Eugene Peterson; all helpful in strengthening the ministry and life of a pastor. Part of my reading list during sabbatical.)
   • Human sexuality
     Bible Gender Sexuality: Reframing the Church’s Debate on Same-Sex Relationships by James V. Brownson
     The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics by Robert A. J. Gagnon
     (Brownson and Gagnon have differing views. I read each to gain a broader understanding of the views expressed from various places on the continuum of thought on same-sex relationships.)