Business owners and reviewers have always had a very tenuous relationship. With the rise of social media review sites, literally everyone is a critic. Inc. traces the rise of Yelp, and the effect it’s having on emerging businesses. Just remember when responding to reviews, be honest and professional in tone.
IRS Commissioner Shulman shocked most tax preparers and professionals last week at a New York State Bar Association Tax Section Meeting when he proposed that businesses should be required to provide detailed information in their tax returns regarding uncertain tax positions taken on their returns. Under the Commissioner’s proposal, taxpayers would be required to provide a “few sentences” of information explaining the nature of each uncertain tax position, and taxpayers who fail to disclose these “uncertain tax positions” would be subject to significant penalties.
If it sounds like the Commissioner is asking taxpayers to do the IRS’s job for them, you are at least partially right. The Commissioner is concerned that the IRS is spending too much time attempting to identify tax issues and believes that requiring the disclosure of uncertain positions will enable the IRS to resolve these issues much more quickly and efficiently than it is doing right now.
For many companies, business travel comprises the largest discretionary expenses. Inspired by the recession, some companies have capitalized on technological innovations in videoconferencing to realize substantial bottom-line savings. As NPR reports:
Growing Internet bandwidth and advances in high-definition video have combined with the need to cut costs in recent years at companies such as Genworth, causing them to fundamentally change the way they do business. It’s part of a paradigm shift that Tracy Paurowski at American Express Business Travel calls the “new normal.”
Increasingly, the reality TV phenomenon is turning its cameras to focus on small business owners willing to trade their privacy for their 15 minutes of fame. The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the pros and cons of TV stardom:
Duff Goldman, owner of Charm City Cakes LLC, the Baltimore custom cake shop featured on the Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes,” says his crew wasn’t able to spend as much time making cakes once filming for the show started because the employees were often being pulled aside for interviews.
In a follow-up to his State of the Union address last week, President Obama outlined his plan yesterday to use $30 billion of the remaining Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds to create a new government lending program designed to boost small business lending by community banks. As reported by CNNMoney.com:
The first draft of Obama’s plan, announced three months ago, involved lending TARP money to community banks to use for local business loans. But community bankers reacted warily to the plan — they had little interest in taking capital from a program that has drawn so much criticism. … Obama’s new proposal asks Congress to divert TARP funds into an entirely new lending program. The administration hopes that scrapping the TARP taint will make the offering more attractive to bankers.
Small additions to a home office can make a big difference. Inc. gives a list of ten products that can increase productivity and help with promotions.
The next time you host a brainstorming session, take notes on the wall. IdeaPaint can transform any wall into a dry-erase board. Start with a coat of primer, then apply a layer of IdeaPaint. A $200 kit, available at IdeaPaint.com, contains a roller and enough paint to cover 50 square feet, for a cost of $4 per square foot. (By contrast, whiteboards usually cost $8 to $20 per square foot.)
As reported today in The Wall Street Journal, the lack of access to traditional small business loans and available investors has found a growing number of small business owners considering asset-based lending options:
Asset-based lending, once considered a last-resort finance option, has become a popular choice for companies that don’t have the credit ratings, track record or patience to pursue more traditional capital sources.
Because asset-based lenders focus on collateral, rather than credit-worthiness, they do deals that more traditional lenders shy away from. Borrowers put up equipment, inventory, accounts-receivable and other liquid assets in exchange for the money. Drawbacks include relatively high rates, and the ability of lenders to legally seize assets if the borrower misses payments.
On January 1, 2010, and for the first time in almost 100 years, the United States Tax Code does NOT have a tax on the transfer of wealth at the death of an individual. However, there remains a gift tax on lifetime transfers in 2010 at a maximum rate of 35% (10% lower than in 2009).
How Did This Happen?
The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (“the Act”) was signed into law by President Bush on June 7, 2001. The Act made many changes to the estate, gift and GST transfer tax system, gradually lowering tax rates and increasing exemption amounts.
On January 22, 2010, President Obama signed into law a provision accelerating the itemized charitable donation tax deduction for qualifying individual contributions to Haiti earthquake relief efforts. Qualifying contributions made between January 11 and March 1 this year are now eligible for deduction on 2009 tax returns.
Contributions must be made in cash in order to qualify, which would include donations made by check, credit card, and text message. Contributions through marketable securities and contributions from corporations do not qualify. Taxpayers have the option of deducting these contributions on either their 2009 or 2010 tax return, but not both.
Many small business owners are drawn to the excitement of corralling ideas from a capable team. As a business grows, however, that approach is not exactly called for in every situation, and can in some cases be detrimental. Inc columnist Joel Spolsky gives advice from his own experience with communicating too much.
But communications costs add up faster than you think, especially on larger teams. What used to work with three people in a garage all talking to one another about everything just doesn’t work when your head count reaches 10 or 20 people. Everybody who doesn’t need to be in that meeting is killing productivity. Everybody who doesn’t need to read that e-mail is distracted by it. At some point, overcommunicating just isn’t efficient.
