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The Disappearing Penny & the Switch to Rounding Cash Transactions
With the U.S. Mint ceasing penny production last year, pennies are now harder and harder to come by. RAM members and retailers nationwide are now moving toward rounding cash transactions when exact change is unavailable.
The industry continues to advocate for quick passage of the Common Cents Act, legislation that will allow cash transactions to be rounded up or down to the nearest five cents and is expected to include important standard rounding guidance and preemption of any law that may be in conflict.
On December 23 rd, the U.S. Treasury posted the following update: “Penny Production Cessation FAQs”. The update cites a report from the National Council of State Legislators with recommended rounding guidance:
RAM IN THE NEWS:
Boston Globe Op-Eds:
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Small Businesses are drowning in hidden energy costs
2025 RAMAE Winners
Jon Hurst, RAM President & CEO (far left) with Alan Gibeley, Giblees -- Retail Hall of Fame; Brian and Monila Junkins, Friends' Marketplace -- Retail of the Year; Alexis Cervasio -- EBO & Co. Grocery, Creative Concepts in Retailing; Nia Grace Hyman, Grace by Nia -- Innovator of the Year; Michael Kasseris, Jason Kleinerman and Karim El-Gamal, Rail Trail Flatbread Co. -- Restaurant of the Year.
Click here to watch a short video about each of our 2025 winners.
Jon Hurst, RAM President & CEO, discussed Healthcare Costs with Sarah Iselin, President & CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts at the RAM Annual Meeting Awards Luncheon.
Click image above to read blog on healthcare costs.
RAMHIC Offerings for 2026
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.
Beacon Hill Update
On Wednesday November 19th, the MA legislature concluded its Formal Session for 2025, the first year of the current two-year legislative cycle. Both the House and the Senate will continue to meet informally through the end of the year, before returning to Formal Session in January. All bills, except for appropriation bills, will carry over into 2026.
Prior to adjourning, legislators did reach resolution on a final supplemental budget bill to close the books on FY2025, which Governor Maura Healey later signed into law (Chapter 73 of the Acts of 2025). The new law includes a provision (Section 176) that authorizes the Department of Revenue (DOR) to waive penalties imposed for an underpayment of tax due on or after April 1, 2021, relating to the advanced payment of sales tax, if the penalty would cause undue financial hardship, as determined by the Commissioner of Revenue. DOR is required to publish guidance on the process by the end of the year. Members who may have received such a penalty, or who are involved in an audit process currently, related to the advanced payment of sales tax, should be on the lookout for forthcoming guidance from the DOR, which RAM will also share via e-news.
Click here to keep reading.
MassDEP Explores Lowering Organics/Food Waste Ban Threshold to Zero
The MA Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is exploring the possibility of implementing a total statewide organics waste ban. The ban is being discussed in two potential phases, with the first phase beginning on or after November 1, 2028, and impacting all businesses and commercial entities regardless of size. Phase two would potentially take effect two years later and would apply to all residential food waste as well.
MassDEP first implemented a ban on the disposal of commercial organic waste in 2014, impacting businesses and institutions that generated one ton or more of organic waste per week. That threshold was lowered to a half ton or more on November 1, 2022. Currently, any entity that meets the threshold must donate or re-purpose the useable food, or dispose of via anaerobic digestion (AD), composting or as animal feed.
Information on the existing organics waste ban, including compliance assistance, is available here. The elimination of the threshold is still in the early stages of discussion before the Organics Subcommittee of the MassDEP Solid Waste Advisory Committee. A presentation of the proposed approach to eliminating the threshold is available here. RAM will continue to monitor and participate in the DEP SWAC and Subcommittee process as the discussion proceeds.
UPDATE: IRS issues extension of PFML tax ruling
Please be advised that the MA Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) will delay its implementation of certain portions of the tax withholding and reporting requirements outlined in IRS Revenue Ruling 2025-4 due to new guidance issued by the IRS. On December 19, 2025, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued IRS Notice 2026-6 which extends the implementation transition period provided to state paid family and medical leave programs and employers for an additional year.
Learn more about how this impacts employers in Massachusetts
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