Tax Prep Basics for Small Business Owners
Tax season got off to a bit of a late start this year, because of fiscal cliff legislation passed on Jan. 1, and filings are now pouring in. To help self-employed individuals and small business owners get through tax time with as little stress and hassle as possible, I checked in with Russell Fox, whose Las Vegas company, Clayton Financial & Tax, prepares returns for about 900 individuals and small business owners annually. Clayton is an enrolled agent, an Internal Revenue Service credential that allows licensed tax professionals to represent taxpayers before the agency. His most recent book, Tax Strategies for the Small Business Owner, was published in January. Here are his suggestions for small business owners and the self-employed: ... Go to Bloomberg Businessweek, Click Here
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SBA Encourages More Small Loans Under 150K
This week the SBA announced a plan to waive some fees and reduce others for loans of $150,000 and less.
The agency is waiving its upfront, 2 percent loan-guarantee fee for those smaller loans and reduce a monthly guarantee fee paid by the lenders by three-tens of a percent. The SBA didn't announce an end date for waiving the fees.
The changes mean small business owners borrowing $150,000 will no longer have to come up with $2,550 in upfront fees at the time the loan closes. That will help many of the Main Street retailers, service businesses, craft breweries, and car dealerships that apply for SBA-guaranteed loans at the Bank of Montana's Missoula branch, where Kimberly R. Shappee is a senior credit officer. "It's awesome. For small business owners who are just getting started, this will be a significant savings. We'll be able to help them grow into significant employers in our area."
Go to Bloomberg Businessweek, Click Here
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7 Conclusions About Small-Business Health Insurance
Having spent the last two weeks fully immersed in the baffling world of health insurance, I've decided that I need to present some information in a different way. If you need to renew your policies before Jan. 1, as I do, there is no time to waste.
Let me start with a caveat: my experience is based on my own company and its location (near Philadelphia). I am a small manufacturer, who currently offers coverage to my employees. I have an insurance agent who has been my primary point of contact with the insurance market. Because I am in Pennsylvania, a state that does not have its own exchange, I am forced to use the HealthCare.gov site. However, the local market is dominated by three large private insurers - Independence Blue Cross, Aetna, United Healthcare - that all have their own websites where business owners can shop directly.
With that in mind, I offer seven hard-earned conclusions I have reached about the new world of small-business health insurance.
Go to New York Times, Click Here |
The Integrity of 'No'.
Leaders often struggle with the process of saying "no" when communicating with their teams and making decisions. Some too readily say no out of fear of approving the wrong things, or because of a false sense of what it means to be in control. Some say no out of habit. Some lack a method to look at alternatives, and simply see "no" as the most convenient option. Then there's the opposite problem. Some leaders don't want to be perceived as negative, so they never say no. Whatever the underlying reason, obviously one can't say yes to everything. Leaders must understand the integrity of saying no, and how to do it constructively. Here are a few fundamentals. ... Go to Inc, Click Here
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