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How Hot Is It?
|  by Jim Wright
The heat is incredible! I am sure you don't need me to tell you about it, but it's so hot...
· you ask your boss for extra work so you can be in the air conditioning as much as possible
· you've been getting hot flashes, and you're a man
· the swans in Des Peres park come in "original recipe" and "extra crispy"
· your pool water starts to boil in the sun
· the hot-dogs sold at Busch Stadium are actually hot
· you need a spatula to remove your clothing
· it makes you want to take off your skin and sit in your bones
· birds use potholders to pull worms out of the ground
· You're sitting inside reading these jokes!
Ok, so most of these one-liners aren't too funny, but you can't go anywhere without someone reminding you of what you already know..."it's hot!" Another thing you already know, the economy is affecting business and entrepreneurs must find ways to survive in the marketplace. Current debate on raising the debt ceiling will certainly affect our business climate in the near future. Decisions made by elected officials on the state, county and local level require input by business leaders and small business owners.
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Member Focus
| Riggs Construction & Design, a Kirkwood design-build remodeling firm, is proud to announce that co-owner Bill Riggs has been named to the 40 Under 40 list by Professional Remodeler magazine. The magazine judges nominees from across the country on characteristics such as leadership, dedication, personal integrity and community outreach.
Every town in the country with a McAlister's Deli is competing for the title of Tea Town USA and up to $7,500 for a nonprofit chosen by that town's restaurant. All 7 local St. Louis McAlister's have joined forces to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in our quest for Tea Town USA. One of the catering managers recently lost her 12 year old cousin, Kayla Thornton, to CF and we want to continue honoring her fight! All St. Louis location McAlisters have to do is earn the most points for our town by voting each day online, "checking in" on Facebook each time you go to McAlister's and participating in the weekly challenges. Vote ST. LOUIS as Tea Town USA and help keep us in the Top 10! July 28 is Free Tea Day! In an effort to support their health care colleagues affected by the recent tornadoes in Joplin and St. Louis, Mo., employees and administrators at St. Anthony's Medical Center have opened their hearts and their pocketbooks. With the help of a $5,000 matching donation from the medical center administration, St. Anthony's employees have contributed a total of $44,455 to the Missouri Hospital Association's Hospital Employee Relief Organization fund, which benefits Missouri health care workers who lost family members, worldly goods or both in the storms. |
This Month's "Now Showing At The Chamber"
|  This Month's Sponsor for "Now Showing at the Chamber" is Big Frog Custom T-Shirts and More.
Samples and various items are available for sale at the Chamber office. Visit today or Click Here to visit their website.
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Income Taxes Done? But Wait! There's More
| 2011 is Already in play. The June 15 deadline just passed for paying estimated taxes, and June 30 marks the half-way point to plan for calendar year companies.
Employers should look at certain new employees that were hired after 2/3/10 and before 1/1/11, and are still employed after one full year. A tax credit of $1,000 is still available.
Two areas employers consider in relation to tax planning, as well as company growth and employee retention, are asset purchases and retirement plans. Both are generous in their provisions for 2011 and 2012.
And income taxes are just a part of the overall planning picture. There are advantages to how your company is structured, whether as a regular C corporation, or as a flow-through entity such as an S corporation, LLC or partnership. Assuring the appropriate levels of income between entity and owner is always an issue worthy of thought.
Companies should be projecting cash flow, assessing debt needs, comparing six-month actual data with budgets, and in general, determining their management directions both for company performance and tax liability now.
Information for this article is provided by Charles "Bud" Funk, CPA with the Tax and Small Business Development Section of Schmersahl Treloar
& Co.
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