Posted on Thursday, 1st September 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Tax professionals may not think that unclaimed property compliance falls within their department’s jurisdiction – however, more often than not, it does. Even though unclaimed property laws are not tax laws, they are close cousins. Unclaimed property looks like a tax because there is an annual filing requirement governed by state law. It also feels like a tax because compliance requires ongoing monitoring of changes in laws and regulations. And for these reasons, the tax department is generally actively involved in – and ultimately responsible for – unclaimed property compliance.

In a recent article in Tax Executive titled, “Unclaimed Property Compliance: A Tax Department Responsibility?” Laura Lane, Senior Manager at Keane, outlined the role tax professionals play in the unclaimed property compliance process. She outlines several best practices tax professionals can adopt to enhance their company’s compliance level. These include identifying potential outstanding liabilities and working with management to preemptively resolve them, assisting management in developing a corporate policy regarding due diligence, reconciling accounts to prevent overpayment, documenting an annual compliance roadmap, and monitoring and tracking regulatory changes.

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Posted on Wednesday, 29th June 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Please be advised that on June 23, 2011, the Governor of North Carolina signed HB 692 into law reducing dormancy periods and amending the requirements of the North Carolina unclaimed property report. The changes are as follows:

1. The dormancy period for “wages and other compensation for personal services” has been reduced from 2 years to 1 year.
2. This bill makes the following North Carolina unclaimed property reporting changes:

1. Removes the NAUPA reference from the statute so that electronic formats are now simply "prescribed by the Treasurer."

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Posted on Thursday, 2nd June 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Keane consultants continue to lend their unclaimed property compliance expertise and advice to the media. This week, Bankers Digest included an article written by Valerie Jundt, the managing director of our Consulting & Advisory Services group. The article (click here to read), titled, “Financial Institutions Face Set of Regulations for Unclaimed Property,” discusses how financial institutions can misstep when it comes to unclaimed property reporting. In her article, Valerie discusses potential unclaimed property trouble for financial companies including:

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Posted on Friday, 6th May 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

On Tuesday, May 3rd, Texas substantially amended HB 257 proposing, among other things, to adjust the due dates for Texas unclaimed property rules, reporting, and delivery.  Previously, Texas’ reporting due date was November 1st with a cut-off date of June 30th.  The amended bill proposes a due date of July 1st with a cut-off date of March 1st.  Accordingly, Texas’ due diligence statute is amended to match the new deadline.

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Posted on Monday, 25th April 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

California unclaimed property continues to make big news this week – this time in their unclaimed property audits of the insurance industry. Last Friday, April 22nd, California State Controller John Chiang made the announcement that the state had settled with insurer John Hancock regarding an audit that was initiated in 2008. The settlement is apparently the first of many that Chiang expects, stemming from audits of 21 insurance companies that have been taking place. The purpose of the audits according to Chiang is to determine the insurance industry’s compliance with state unclaimed property laws.

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Posted on Thursday, 14th April 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

We’ve seen the word “escheatment” achieve a new level of notoriety over the past several months, and it’s largely due to the recent wave of unclaimed property penalties and notices that have been sent out by the State of California Controller’s office.

These interest assessment notices are the result of a recent internal review by the Controller’s office to identify “past due” property that had been reported and was included on the unclaimed property reports filed since 2007. Read More »

Posted on Friday, 8th April 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

March 30, 2011

Nevada unclaimed property, from casinos, could bring the state millions. When gamblers step into casinos, especially in Nevada, they’re looking to win big bucks. Typically, these gamblers don’t bother redeeming the low-value payout tickets dispensed from cashless slot machines or other electronic games.

However, if they cashed in those tickets each time they played, the abandoned winnings would begin to add up. Nevada state officials have not only done the math, but now they want their piece of the pie.

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Posted on Thursday, 7th April 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Please be advised that on March 31, 2011, New York passed the budget bill S2811, which replaced the identical New York Abandoned Property Law A4011. The new law, effective immediately and due with the next reporting cycle, provides the following:

New York S2811 lowered the dormancy periods from 5 years to 3 years for the following property types:

• Money or securities held in escrow, but excluding escrow accounts for which the duty or obligation for which such amount was deposited has not been performed and such performance is still required.

• Amounts due on deposits held by a banking organization or any amount to which a shareholder of a savings and loan or a credit union is entitled.

• Accumulations of interest or other increments held by a bank for payment of an interest in a bond and mortgage apportioned or transferred by it.

More New York Abandoned Property Law Updates

In addition to adjusting dormancy periods, S2811 also amended New York’s reporting provisions. There following are major changes to keep in mind for your next report to New York:

1. Publication requirements: Every banking organization must publish on or before September 1st of each year a notice naming potential owners of unclaimed property being held by the banking organization. Every insurance company must publish on or before May 1st of each year a notice naming potential owners of unclaimed property being held by the company. These provisions provide a little more flexibility in that the previous requirement mandated publication within 30 days of filing a report.

2. Negative and Preliminary reports no longer required: Negative and preliminary reporting requirements are removed for banks, utility companies, insurance companies and condemnation awards reports. The bill further confirms the reporting deadlines and cut-off dates.  Once the statutory due diligence and publication requirements have been satisfied, the report and remittance would be due for banking institutions by November 10th and for life insurance companies by September 10th.

3. Miscellaneous:  The Verification and Checklist (AC2709) notarization requirement was lifted.  NY State law still mandates that all unclaimed funds valued at $20 and higher follow the statutory due diligence requirements.  The State Controller’s Office posts all owners entitled to property valued at $20 and higher on their website for at least one year. Gift cards remain at a 5 year dormancy period.  

Please note we will continue to track any changes regarding new legislation in our unclaimed property blog and our quarterly unclaimed property newsletter, Keanotes.

Should you have any questions or require additional information, you may also contact me directly via email at dzumoff@KeaneUP.com.

Sincerely,

Debbie L. Zumoff
Chief Compliance Officer
Keane

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Posted on Monday, 21st March 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Last week, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that Costco is suing the State of Washington over $3.2 million in unclaimed rebates. The lawsuit is in response to an order mandated by the state in February that Costco owed more than $3 million in unused rebates. The state says the funds belong in a state-managed program for consumers who want to claim the rebates. In Costco’s suit, however, the company alleges it should not have to turn over the requested funds as it engaged a third party rebate house to manage its rebate program. Because the company does not retain the amounts at issue, it doesn’t believe it owes the state anything.

The $3.2 million represents unclaimed Costco rebate from 2004 to 2010, plus interest.

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Posted on Friday, 18th March 2011 by Keane Unclaimed Property Team

Pamela Wentz Joins Keane’s Unclaimed Property Consulting and Advisory Services Group as a Senior Manager

Last week, we announced that state unclaimed property audit director, Pamela Wentz, joined our team as senior manager of our Unclaimed Property Consulting and Advisory Services Group. Along with Valerie Jundt, Pamela will be serving this group from her office in Bismarck, North Dakota. We’re overjoyed to have Pamela on board as her extensive experience as a former state unclaimed property auditor not only gives her a unique perspective from which our clients will benefit, but also adds to our team’s deep industry knowledge. Read More »