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. Click here to JOIN NOW!
2024 RAM Awards of Excellence Winners
Craft Food Halls
Creative Concepts in Retailing
BANTER Barber & Clothier
Innovator of the Year
Bean Restaurant Group
Restaurant of the Year
An Unlikely Story
Retailer of the Year
West End Creamery
Retail Hall of Fame
Thank you to AM Creative and Jon Almas for creating our winner videos.
UPDATE: Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting DELAYED
On December 3rd, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted a nationwide injunction barring the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), including its Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting requirement. As discussed in the RAM advisory issued earlier in the week, the Act’s reporting deadline had been set for January 1, 2025.
Under the federal court order, companies do not need to comply with the CTA’s reporting requirements at this time, pending further order of the Court. Please note that the order is not a final decision, so companies should remain prepared to comply with the CTA reporting requirements in the event the injunction is lifted or the requirements are reinstated as the case proceeds. At this time it remains unknown whether the Department of Justice intends to appeal the order—a process that would take months.
RAM will continue to monitor this situation for new development and provide Members with updates as they become available.
Gov. Healey Files $62B FY26 State Budget Plan:
Proposes Sales Tax on Candy, New Synthetic Nicotine Tax
Last week, Gov. Maura Healey released her FY26 State Budget Recommendation, which proposes to spend more than $62 billion in the upcoming fiscal year that begins on July 1, a spending increase of 7.4% over the bottom line of the FY25 budget she signed into law in July. As she did last year, the Governor again this budget cycle is seeking to pair her plan with a separate municipal tax package that would allow cities and towns to increase local option taxes on room occupancy, auto excise, and meals, but that bill has yet to be filed. Gov. Healey also filed a supplemental spending bill, H.51, making appropriations in the current fiscal year, FY25, utilizing excess surtax, or “Millionaire’s Tax,” revenue left unspent from FY23 and FY24. The $1.32 billion supp divides the spending between $858 million for transportation needs and $462 million towards education items. Click here to view a few specific tax policy changes of interest to RAM members.
Healey Administration Agrees to UI Deal to Resolve $2.5B Mistake:
Employers Will Pay
The looming $2.5 billion UI liability question that had been hanging over employers’ heads for over 18 months has been answered, with news of a deal between the state and the federal government. Under the recent agreement negotiated by the Healey Administration, employers will be required to pay back $2.1 billion over the next decade, to correct an error made during the Baker Administration when federal funds were incorrectly spent. The agreement was signed on one of the last days of the Biden administration. RAM reacted:
“It’s discouraging we have to pay for this,” RAM President Jon Hurst said of the latest settlement. “The fact that we have what is frankly a collapsing system even without this additional $2.1 billion, and adding to the fact we’re still paying the $2.7 billion from the prior administration, and now this, all for claims [related to pandemic-era mandatory shutdowns] that were really the government’s fault, not the employers’ fault, it’s a tough thing, it’s very costly.” On the plus side, Hurst said he’s hopeful “that it appears there’s some willingness to talk about reforming the system. . . . Maybe this will be a tradeoff that employers will see as worthwhile.”
RAM will continue to advocate for the state to cover some of the costs associated with this mistake and will continue to push for meaningful UI reforms this legislative session.
2023-24 MA Legislative Session Ends,
New 2025-26 Legislature Sworn In
The MA Senate and House of Representatives closed out 2024 with a flurry of activity, completing work on a host of bills before adjourning for the final time in the early morning hours on December 31st.
Click here to see legislation of interest to RAM members the Governor signed.
RAMHIC Offerings for 2025
RAMHIC continues to partner with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to offer members access to the carrier's entire portfolio of high quality, small group health insurance plans.
All members purchasing their health insurance coverage through the cooperative will also receive an expanded list of ancillary benefits, FREE of charge.
Click image above to view a BCBS produced informational video on the power of the RAM/BCBS Cooperative.
Please see our brochure for more detail on the expanded benefit package. Specific information regarding each benefit may be found below:
For more information please visit the RAMHIC page of our website.
We are excited to announce we have enhanced our Multiple Employer 401k (MEP) program. Available only to our members, we have a new partner, Transamerica Retirement Services. Transamerica is an industry leader in retirement plan marketplace and an expert in Multiple Employer 401k Retirement Plans.
In addition to Transamerica, you also have professional fiduciary investment management provided by Atlas Fiduciary Services, Inc., and outsourced fiduciary plan administration through Atlas Pension Administrators Inc. All of this and you can work with an advisor of your choice.
Adopting members will experience:
- Fewer plan administration duties
- Reduced fiduciary liability
- Streamlined costs.
- Flexible plan design
- Online account management
- Employee education and communication support
Now has never been a better time to set up a new 401k plan for your business! The federal government has tremendous tax credits for newly established plan, virtually making the prospects of offering a plan free.
If you already have a plan, a quick evaluation can help determine what your saving might be under our MEP 401k plan with our complementary benchmark analysis.
Attention RAM Cannabis Members!
Cannabis Control Commission Eliminates “Two-driver” Rule
At a meeting on Wednesday, October 30th, the MA Cannabis Control Commission approved final regulations that will ease the burden on consumer cannabis delivery companies and the transport of marijuana products for testing purposes, by eliminating the “two-driver” rule that had added unnecessary costs to the delivery process.
The changes to 935 CMR 500.00 and 935 CMR 501.00 modify the requirements to allow the delivery of marijuana and marijuana products to consumers and patients with one agent (driver) in a vehicle at a time, provided that the total retail value of all products in the vehicle is less than $5,000. For delivery or transport of product valued between $5,000 and $10,000, the two-agent requirement will remain in effect.
The regulations will take effect on November 22nd.
Gov. Healey Announces Signing of $3.9B Economic Development Bond Bill in Speech to RAM Annual Meeting
The MA House and Senate met in rare post-election Formal Sessions in mid November to give final approval to conference committee reports on the Economic Development Bond bill (H.5100)and the Omnibus Energy and Climate bill (S.2967) – two major bills that saw negotiations extend beyond this summer and into the fall. Governor Maura Healey signed the Economic Development bill into law last month, and then announced the signing an hour later in her speech to the RAM Annual Meeting. The Energy and Climate bill was signed into law later that evening.
RAM members in attendance at the meeting thanked the Governor for her efforts in promoting these important initiatives and applauded the passage of both bills.
Click here to view policy items of interest to RAM members in the Economic Development bill and Omnibus Energy & Climate Bill.
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