Small Biz Tech Council Honors Sen. Snowe With Award

Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican, has received the Small Business Technology Council’s Milton Stewart Award. It's an annual award presented annually to individuals who have made big contributions to American small business technology companies.

“I am honored to receive this distinguished award from SBTC, whose dedication to promoting and defending the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs has been nothing short of remarkable. These critical programs are more important than ever to helping spur national job creation and enhancing our global competitiveness," said Snowe.

According to the Small Business Administration, the SBIR program awarded over $2.1 billion to businesses in fiscal 2008, while STTR added $239 million.

"The impact of this funding on small business development, high-tech innovation, and commercialization of groundbreaking technology is incredibly significant and I remain committed to reauthorizing SBIR and STTR in a manner that ensures they remain, to their core, small business programs,” said Snowe.

The Small Business Technology Council is a nonprofit organization representing small, technology-based companies. SBTC is a big fan of the SBIR program.

Stamps.com Offers Webinar for Small Business, E-commerce retailers

Stamps.com, a top provider of online postage and shipping software for the U.S. Postal Service, is offering a free webinar for small businesses and e-commerce retailers that's designed to help make shipping processes more efficient in preparation for the upcoming holiday season.

The webinar is Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. ET and registration is at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/189058627

Stamps.com shipping gurus plan to discuss how to:

• Add a sense of urgency to increase early sales.
• Provide a hassle-free shopping experience.
• Package merchandise to minimize damage and returns.
• Test pricing and free shipping offers.
• Streamline shipping with batch processing.

Senate Passes Small Biz Jobs and Credit Act

The Senate on Thursday passed the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act, helping some small businesses that qualify for certain tax breaks or new loans.

Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., the chairwoman of the House Committee on Small Business, commented today on Senate passage of H.R. 5297: "Today's Senate vote is another important step toward helping small businesses access capital they need to fuel our economic recovery. The House-passed legislation included strong safeguards to ensure that banks boost their small business lending. I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues to ensure any final package achieves that goal."

The National Federation of Independent Business applauded the measure's passage, but lamented that a repeal of the Form 1099 requirements was not included.

Small Biz Ticked Off About Form 1099 Reporting Requirements

The small business community is in general consensus that lawmakers are failing to support them in its effort to get rid of language in the new health care reform bill that requires expanded Form 1099 reporting requirements.

Congress is back in session this week and failed to pass two amendments on addressing those new requirements set to take effect in 2012.

The measure doesn’t have anything to do with health care, but Section 9006 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandates that small business owners file a 1099-MISC with the IRS for payments made to vendors totaling $600 or more in a tax year.

A small business would have to file a 1099 with office supply store Staples, for example, if the business owner purchased at least $600 worth of office supplies from it in one year.

An amendment from Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., would repeal the provision and lower the standard required for the individual mandate to purchase health coverage.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., would alter the new 1099 requirement by exempting businesses with fewer than 25 employees from having to comply with it. His measure also would raise the reporting threshold from $600 to $5,000 worth of goods and services. Nelson also favors creating a list of companies, such as utilities, that small business owners would not be required to give forms 1099.

“There is bipartisan agreement in the House and Senate that this provision should be fully repealed,” said a statement from the National Federation of Independent Business. “No ‘alternative’ meant to provide political cover ends this paperwork nightmare that should have never been included in the healthcare law. That’s why NFIB – and hundreds in the business community – made it clear that full repeal of the 1099 provision was the only acceptable option for our nation’s job creators.”

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who chairs her chamber’s small business committee, said she would introduce separate legislation dealing with the issue in the near future.

A survey from the National Association for the Self-Employed shows that these businesses will face an over 1,250 percent paperwork increase under the current regulation set to begin in 2012.

The NASE also signed on to a letter by the Coalition for Fairness in Tax Compliance supporting the amendment by Sen. Johanns. The National Small Business Association, the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council are among the signatories.

NoVa Black Chamber of Commerce Hosts Candidates Night

Fifteen politicians from four parties are confirmed to attend an event hosted by the Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce dubbed "Candidates Night 2010" on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 5:30-8 p.m. at the Courtyard By Marriott Tysons Corner.

 

The nonpartisan NVBCC Candidates’ Night Mixer gives candidates and elected officials the opportunity to meet constituents face-to-face, and allows members of the Black Community the chance to express their concerns about the future of Northern Virginia.

 

Candidates and elected officials from the Democratic, Green, Libertarian and Republican political parties have been confirmed. “We want to ensure that all candidates have an opportunity to listen to our concerns and solicit our votes,” said Randy Philip, NVBCC chair.

 

The event is held just after the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference.

IRS Holds Taxpayer Open House Sept. 25

The IRS will host a special nationwide open house on Saturday, Sept. 25, to help taxpayers –– especially veterans and people with disabilities –– solve tax problems and respond to IRS notices.

One hundred offices, at least one in every state, will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time. IRS staff will be available on-site or by telephone to help taxpayers work through issues.

In many locations, the IRS will partner with organizations that serve veterans and the disabled to offer additional help and information to people in these communities, according to the agency. Partner organizations include the National Disability Institute, Vets First, Department of Veterans Affairs, National Council on Independent Living and the American Legion.

IRS Offers Guidance on Calculating Small Biz Health Care Tax Credit

The Internal Revenue Service has released a draft version of the form that small businesses and tax-exempt organizations will use to calculate the small business health care tax credit when they file income tax returns next year.

The agency also announced how eligible tax-exempt organizations, which do not generally file income tax returns, will claim the credit during the 2011 filing season.

The IRS has posted a draft of Form 8941 (pdf) on the web site IRS.gov. Small businesses and tax-exempt organizations will use this form to calculate the credit. A small business will then include the amount of the credit as part of the general business credit on its income tax return, according to the IRS.

Tax-exempt organizations will claim the small business health care tax credit on a revised Form 990-T. The Form 990-T is currently used by tax-exempt organizations to report and pay the tax on unrelated business income. Form 990-T will be revised for the 2011 filing season to enable eligible tax-exempt organizations –– even those that owe no tax on unrelated business income –– also to claim the small business health care tax credit.

The final version of Form 8941 and its instructions is expected to be available later this year.

The small business health care tax credit was included in the Affordable Care Act signed by President Obama in March and effective this year. The IRS explains the credit as being designed to encourage small employers to offer health insurance coverage for the first time or maintain coverage they already have.

In 2010, the credit is generally available to small employers that contribute an amount equivalent to at least half the cost of single coverage toward buying health insurance for their employees. The credit is designed to help small businesses and tax-exempt organizations that primarily employ moderate- and lower-income workers, according to the IRS.

For tax years 2010 to 2013, the maximum credit is 35 percent of premiums paid by eligible small business employers and 25 percent of premiums paid by eligible employers that are tax-exempt organizations. Beginning in 2014, the maximum tax credit will go up to 50 percent of premiums paid by eligible small business employers and 35 percent of premiums paid by eligible, tax-exempt organizations for two years.  The maximum credit goes to smaller employers, which the agency is defining as those with 10 or fewer full-time equivalent employees, paying annual average wages of $25,000 or less.

The credit is phased out for employers that have 25 full-time employees or more or that pay average wages of $50,000 per year or more. Because the eligibility rules are based in part on the number of FTEs, and not simply the number of employees, businesses that use part-time help may qualify even if they employ more than 25 individuals.

SBA Hosts Job Symposium on Capitol Hill

The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy is hosting a job symposium Oct. 14 on Capitol Hill.

SBA Administrator Karen Mills is scheduled to speak along with Advocacy Chief Counsel Winslow Sargeant, among others.

The event is expected to review the kinds of growth that have been creating jobs, the importance of innovation and incentives, financing high-impact firms and other issues.

View the prospective agenda and register online at

http://www.sba.gov/advo/sym_entrepreneurship.html

Report: Business Are Paying Their Bills More Slowly

Simmer down that talk of any kind of rapid economic recovery. Businesses paid their bills more slowly in July, according to a new report out this morning.

The national average number of days that businesses paid their bills beyond contracted terms increased by 2 percent in July when compared with June, according to Experian’s Business Benchmark Report.

The July report also showed that the national average dollars delinquent and dollars severely delinquent (91 or more days) are up (6 percent and 13 percent, respectively) when compared with six months ago.

Graphic provided by Experian

Businesses with no employees, or “nonemployer” firms, along with the largest businesses, showed the greatest increase in paying their bills beyond their due date. They increased in paying “days beyond terms” or DBT, by 5.6 percent and 4 percent, respectively, when compared with six months ago. Midsize businesses (with 50 to 499 employees) showed the biggest improvement, reducing DBT by as much as 6.1 percent over the same period.

However, month over month, the largest increase seen in DBTwas in the nonemployer category, which increased by 2 percent to 5.7 days. The biggest improvement in average DBT was seen in the large business category (those with 500 to 999 employees), where DBT improved by 1.6 percent to 8.6 days.

Other report highlights:

·  The average commercial risk score for July was 58.3, up 0.5 percent over June’s average score of 58. For firms with one to four employees, the risk score is 56.7, up 1.3 percent from six months ago.

Graphic provided by Experian

·  In July, very large businesses, which have more than 1,000 employees, showed an almost 6 percent drop in their risk scores compared with June, going from 41.6 to 39.3. However, these businesses continue to demonstrate the greatest overall improvement in risk scores when compared with six months ago, when the average score was 38.2.

· In July, public administration showed the biggest improvement in risk scores over the past six months, improving by 1.6 percent. Conversely, the financial sector showed the greatest decline in risk scores over the same six-month period, decreasing by 1.5 percent.

· Pennsylvania (61.4), Massachusetts (61.2) and Illinois (58.9) were the only states with the largest metropolitan areas that had risk scores better than the national average in July.

Average Days Beyond Terms (DBT):

· All industry groups have shown an increase in DBT in July compared with June. Manufacturing and Utilities had the biggest increases, rising by 2.5 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.

Graphic provided by Experian

· New York (4.2 DBT), Massachusetts (5.1 DBT), Pennsylvania (5.3 DBT), California (5.4 DBT) and Texas (5.8 DBT) were the only states with the largest metropolitan areas that stayed well below the national average DBT in July. 

DC Group Hosts Event to Help Small Firms Navigate How to Do Business in D.C.

The Washington DC Economic Partnership, a group that helps small businesses get business in the D.C. metro area, is hosting "Doing Business 2.0."

The event is the live version of its "Doing Business in DC" publication providing a step-by-step guide for entrepreneurs who want to start or expand a business in D.C.

The group has set up a panel discussion focused on each of the 10 chapters in its book. Topics range from starting up to business financing and speakers include academics, business executives, venture capitalists and others.

The event will be held Wednesday, Sept. 8 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Venable, 575 7th St., NW, Capitol Room, 8th Floor, Washington, 20004. Only a few spaces remain.

Charitable Groups Outpace Others in Use of Social Media

New research shows that charitable organizations are still outpacing the business world and academia in their use of social media.

The latest study looking at 2009 data (pdf) by The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research revealed that 97 percent of charitable organizations are using some form of social media including blogs, podcasts, message boards, social networking, video blogging, wikis and Twitter.

The analysis is based on detailed interviews with executives from 76 of 200 charities that responded to the researchers' requests. They were working off a list of 200 of the nation's largest charities as identified by Forbes magazine.

The charities that participated in the study are diverse in mission, average gifts and total revenue. They include some of the best-known charities in the country such as the Salvation Army, American Heart Association, Catholic Relief Services, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and American Lung Association.

The participating non-profits are geographically diverse with headquarters in most major U.S. cities including New York, Washington, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta and San Francisco.

The researchers issued their first study on this subject and showed that these large non-profits were leading large and small businesses as well as universities in their familiarity with, usage of, monitoring of and attitude towards social media. That trend continued in 2008 and 2009.

IRS Aims to Boost Electronic Transactions

The IRS has just issued proposed regulations to significantly increase the number of electronic transactions between taxpayers and the federal government.

The proposed regulations (REG 153340-09) would eliminate the rules for making federal tax deposits by paper coupon because the paper coupon system will no longer be maintained by the Treasury Department after Dec. 31, 2010.

The proposed regulations maintain existing rules for depositing federal taxes through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System.

The IRS says that using EFTPS to make federal tax deposits provides substantial benefits to both taxpayers and the government, i.e., EFTPS users can make tax payments 24 hours a day, seven days a week from home or the office.

The system also allows taxpayers to schedule dates to make payments even when they are out of town or on vacation when a payment is due.

Information on EFTPS, including how to enroll, can be found at www.eftps.gov or by calling EFTPS Customer Service at (800) 555-4477.

When Disaster Strikes

I recently drove through 80 mile an hour winds with a six year old in the car. We pulled over, and then drove some more as trees started falling around us, lightening stunning our vision. Our car lifted off the ground, set down again. Power lines were loose and flying everywhere.

Luckily, the storm ceased and we were fine. Our neighborhood was without power for three days, others went without longer. I can live without air conditioning, but it was difficult to have no refrigeration and frankly I wish I could have done laundry. As a freelancer, I also have a home office, highlighting for me the importance of good storage and the need to find backup places to go to get work done.


I felt so lucky compared to the home owners of some of the houses we drove by when the storm was over. Trees had snapped houses in two. Huge trees were uprooted everywhere. We saw one hanging upside down from the telephone wires. A friend’s house was condemned after two trees fell on it. She had to move her family, including her four kids to a rental. These disasters are nothing compared to what’s going on in Pakistan and elsewhere, but it’s home. 

Another neighbor complained that with our unusual blizzards last winter, freak tornadoes this summer, “Bring on the zombies! At this point, I’m definitely ready for zombies!” Don’t speak too soon – Halloween is around the corner.

I started thinking about my experience last week, sawing and hauling trees when I read a government report today about federal funds needed after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Today many small businesses in the Gulf Coast still face recovery challenges from those tragedies – and now they’re reeling from the oil spill.

The Small Business Administration provided about $1.4 billion in loans after those hurricanes, in addition to monies provided by Louisiana and Mississippi. The GAO recently interviewed some of those small business loan recipients and found that some of the business owners had problems applying for SBA loans because the hurricanes destroyed needed financial records. I hope most small firms are getting on board with cloud computing so they’re not storing their best data on site. If you don't know what that is, there's probably someone at your local chamber of commerce who does. At the very least, get a fire and water proof box.

“Other owners face higher expenses, especially the cost of commercial insurance and added debt from these loan programs, which has made recovering difficult,” the GAO found.

Meanwhile, Gulf Coast small businesses received almost $2.9 billion in federal contracts awarded in response to the hurricanes. The GAO also found that two of the agencies awarding the most in federal contracts for hurricane recovery couldn’t demonstrate they were monitoring subcontracting accomplishment data for 13 of 43 construction contracts. Trust me, people want things built well.

The report also found that populations and the number of small businesses in heavily damaged areas increased, but both are still below prehurricane levels.

“The impact of the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on small businesses is uncertain,” the report cautioned.

New Health Care Bill Befuddles Micro Business Owners

When it comes to the health bill, small business owners are wondering if they should take two aspirin – but who the heck to call in the morning?

Micro-businesses, which have fewer than 10 employees, are confused whether their health plans meet certain requirements outlined in the Affordable Care Act, according to a new study.

The bill offers entrepreneurs the choice to keep the plan they currently provide – if it meets certain requirements – but most entrepreneurs are uncertain how their plan will meet these new rules and if their monthly premiums will be affected, according to a survey by the National Association for the Self-Employed. Some study highlights:

·         65 percent of micro-businesses say they only somewhat or slightly understand the new "grandfathered" plan requirements and how it may impact their ability to keep their plans.

·         Of those aware of the requirements to maintain "grandfathered" status of a health plan, 43 percent believe they can keep their plan. Fifty-seven percent were either unsure or knew that they would not be unable to keep their current plan.

·         92 percent believe the self-employed and small business owners should receive a notice from their insurer or from the federal government about whether their plan qualifies as a “grandfathered” plan

With close to 50 percent of micro-business respondents wishing to keep their current coverage, a clear understanding of the “grandfathered” status regulations will be essential to a small-business owner’s ability to maintain their existing coverage, says NASE.

“The self-employed and micro-businesses are always looking at how to get the best deal and health coverage is no exception,” said Kristie Arslan, executive director of NASE’s legislative offices. “Our concern with the current 'grandfathered' status regulations is that it leaves business owners with little wiggle room to make key adjustments to their existing health plan to maintain its affordability for the business owner and employees. Ultimately, micro-businesses will be forced to drop their plan they were hoping to keep and be pushed into the new insurance market which is likely to offer more robust, but also more expensive health plans.”

NASE’s survey found that approximately 67 percent of respondents have changed insurance carriers since the inception of their business, with 55 percent indicating that the primary driver for the change corresponded with the desire to find a better deal or lower costs. Many who made adjustments to their existing health plan to address costs did so by adjusting their deductibles – a move that, under proposed rules, would force them to lose their “grandfathered” status.

Kauffman Unveils Tool to Help Simplify Business Plan Contests

The Kauffman Foundation is offering a tool designed to help universities and non-profits simplify and power up business plan competitions.

According to the foundation, more than 50 U.S. universities conduct business plan competitions annually, awarding upwards of $10 million in prizes and in-kind services. "While business plan competitions are an important part of entrepreneurial education, the time and complexity required to administer competitions can limit the size of competitions or prevent organizations from holding a competition," the group said in an announcement unveiling its new initiative.

The group says that the tool, iStart, aims to bring standardization and efficiency to these competitions, as well as transparency and access to the business plans themselves; increasing the number of new firms formed. 

  

The iStart platform will help users learn more about the entrepreneurial ecosystem surrounding university entrepreneurship. It also provides users with access to both the plans that are created as a part of these competitions and the information that is created in the normal course of a competition. Universities and platform-users will be able to mine the data collected from business plan competitions across organizations, gain insight and educate entrepreneurs.

Cups Full of Hope

Cups Full of Hope is a little different than your traditional mix-and-mingle. It’s a fundraising event to beat breast cancer.

Take an everyday, 36C bra and transform it into a work of art. Register your bra on the Success in the City site and mail your masterpiece, along with a short story about what inspired you, by Aug. 27 .

Success in the City, a local networking group for women, offers:

FIVE REASONS TO ATTEND CUPS FULL OF HOPE

5. Hang out with the girls

4. Let your creativity run wild

3. Help local women who are living with breast cancer

2. Exclaim "BRAllelujah!" if you win the $500 top prize

1. Make new connections that could lead to more business

ATTEND

On Sept. 15, join the fun as SITC holds a silent auction for the best bras-of-art. Proceeds will benefit the Tigerlily Foundation, a local non-profit that helps support women in the area living with breast cancer.

WIN

Grand Prize $500: a luxury gift basket provided by The Full Cup

Second Prize $300: stunning jewelry ensemble provided by the Carlin Group

Third Prize $200: gift certificates provided by various sponsors

People's Choice: $150 cash provided by Helios HR

Best Inspirational Story $100: Purse from Biejo Bags provided by Access National Bank

Public-Private Partnership Unveils Nation's First Program to Aid Minority Construction Industry

The Minority Business Development Agency, the International Trade Association and other groups announced an initiative  Tuesday designed to globalize the U.S. minority-owned construction industry by providing education, tutoring, mentoring and procurement opportunities.

Firms that complete the program will have the opportunity to compete for a minimum of $1 billion in contracts from Tutor Perini, a corporation that is also participating in this new program. 

“This program could not be more relevant in today’s economy, where global competition is tougher than ever before,” said U.S. Commerce Deputy Secretary Dennis Hightower.

The Global Construction Program will prepare 150 high capacity, minority-owned and operated general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers to compete for construction opportunities worldwide. Participating firms will receive training, education and mentoring, as well as a new, broader source of contracting opportunities. Tutor Perini is one of the nation’s largest global construction conglomerates.

“The Global Construction Program is designed to provide minority-owned firms with access to relationships, technical training, and skills to compete in the construction industry worldwide,” MBDA National Director David Hinson said. “This is the first time in history that minority businesses will have access to global construction opportunities...This program is the first of a series of programs designed to increase employment and capacity in the minority business sector.”

Included in the program are comprehensive quantitative and qualitative needs assessment, classroom training and distance learning including webinars and online self-study through the University of Southern California, field and on-the-job training provided through Tutor Perini, and training on federal certifications that will allow participants to work on U.S. government-supported construction projects internationally.

“This partnership between USC, private business and the federal government will create thousands of new jobs within minority-owned construction companies by providing instruction, access and opportunity,” said Tom Sayles, USC’s vice president of government and community relations. “This program will create a path to compete for an estimated $1 billion in contracts all over the world in the next four years.”

In addition, Next Level Diversity, LLC will provide the administration of this program, Ralph G. Moore & Associates will conduct the needs assessments and the International Trade Administration will provide training on its global services and the global construction industry.

The program is specifically tailored for minority general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers. Federal sector global contracts traditionally have an entry point eluding even the best minority-owned firms, according to coordinators of this new program. The cost of the program is $10,000 for general contractors and $7,500 for subcontractors and suppliers. The first class is scheduled to begin Oct. 3.

  

To apply, minority-owned firms should send an e-mail to Prequalification@periniwest.com with Global Construction program in the subject line.

Kaplan, Kauffman Partner on Grad Certificates for Entrepreneurs

Kaplan University has partnered with Kauffman FastTrac, a provider of learning curricula for entrepreneurs, to offer two new online graduate certificates designed to prepare students for careers as business people.

“This partnership provides a unique opportunity to combine the innovation of Kaplan University’s online platform with the stellar curriculum that the Kauffman Foundation has developed over the years,” said Kaplan President Wade Dyke. “These certificate programs are a great complement to the university’s online business curriculum. Promoting entrepreneurship through education is central to both of our missions.”

According to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, a leading indicator of new business creation in the United States, the number of new businesses created during the current recession increased. In 2009, business startups reached their highest level in 14 years – even exceeding the number of startups during the peak 1999-2000 technology boom.

The Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship for New Ventures uses the FastTrac NewVenture framework to help students learn the process of starting and building a successful business. The certificate provides instruction in key business areas, including creating business plans, developing financial and operation plans, and creating feasibility studies.

The Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship for Growth Ventures uses the FastTrac GrowthVenture framework to help students learn how to manage an expanding business and to strategically align all aspects of the business for growth. The certificate provides instruction in business areas, including creating marketing plans, identifying leadership strategies, creating growth business plans and conducting internal assessments.

”Nearly all net job growth in our country comes from companies less than five years old. So, today more than ever, we need more people starting companies, and we need current business owners to be more successful in growing their firms,” said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation, which created the FastTrac program.

Women's Small Biz Contracting Program Readies for Launch

The women’s small business contracting program should be ready to launch by the end of this year, Small Business Administration chief Karen Mills told the House Small Business Committee last week.

The SBA in March released a proposed rule identifying 83 industries in which women-owned small businesses were underrepresented when it came to winning government contracts.

That finding placated a group of upset lawmakers, women’s advocacy groups and others who were livid when the Bush administration in 2008 released a plan identifying only four such industries.

Last year the SBA decided to draft a new rule and more than 1,000 businesses, trade groups and others offered comments on it through the May deadline.

In 2000, President Clinton signed the Equity in Contracting for Women Act, allowing the government to set aside contracts for women-owned small firms in industries where females were historically underrepresented.

Virginia's Annual Sales Tax Holiday Begins Aug. 6

Virginia will hold its annual school supplies and clothing tax holiday from Aug. 6 through Aug. 8.

During this three-day period, purchases of qualifying school supplies selling for $20 or less per item, and purchases of qualifying clothing and footwear selling for $100 or less per item will be exempt from sales tax.


Retailers may also choose to absorb the tax on other items during the holiday period, but they are responsible for paying the tax on those items to the Department of Taxation, according to Virginia's web site.

Small Biz Group Launches Campaign to Stop 1099 Mandate

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council has launched a petition and action center devoted to repealing what it calls "a nightmarish paperwork mandate" that expands 1099-Misc reporting. 


SBE Council President & CEO Karen Kerrigan said small business owners are outraged by the provision, and want to know everything they can do stop it from taking effect in 2012. The group has launched www.stop1099.org.


"This expanded 1099 reporting mandate has really gotten under the skin of small business owners, and rightly so," said Kerrigan. "The burden of the new mandate will be tedious, time-consuming, and costly.  Business owners across the country are furious that Congress slid the measure in a massive health care bill without understanding its deep impact."


A provision (Section 9006) in the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" signed by President Barack Obama in March mandates that all businesses issue a 1099 form for all vendor payments totaling $600 or more on an annual basis. This new mandate vastly expands current requirements, and is scheduled to begin in 2012.


The provision was included in the health care bill as a revenue raiser ($17 billion), but there has been no analysis completed to demonstrate how effective the measure will be at closing the "tax gap," Kerrigan said.


"I really don't know if Congress thought about the unintended consequences of the mandate, whether the IRS has the capacity to deal with hundreds of millions of new forms from 30 million businesses, the cost impact it will have on small business owners, and the economy-wide effect of this extensive paperwork burden," she said. 

Low and High Income Earners Less Likely to See Salary Changes

Earn a lot? Earn a little? Then you’re less likely to move up and down the income ladder than workers in the middle of income distribution, according to a new report  (pdf) from the Small Business Administration.

The SBA’s Office of Advocacy said workers in the top and bottom ranks of earnings distribution are less likely, or about 45 to 50 percent, to see significant changes in salary than middle-income workers, who are about 75 to 82 percent likely to move up and down the salary scale.

Some other interesting highlights:

*Income mobility among female workers at 73.2 percent was much higher than male workers at 69.8 percent in the 1990s;

*Female workers also experienced higher exit rates, or about 75 to 85 percent from the lowest ranks of income than their male counterparts;

*Self-employed individuals are more mobile, that is they have bigger salary fluctuations, than paid employees. The self-employed “experience more year-to-year changes and volatility in income than payroll workers.”;

*Whites are more likely to experience self-employment than minorities; and

*Workers in small firms have less formal education than their counterparts.

Next Year, Maybe the SBA Will Remember the Alamo

The Small Business Administration oversees the HUBZone Program designed to aid Historically Underutilized Businesses, and once again a government watchdog group has found the program rife with fraud (pdf).

The program has been staggering under charges for years that businesses are fraudulently or inaccurately representing themselves to get into the program. The Government Accountability Office did a test to see if the SBA has improved any of these perennial problems by creating four bogus businesses, one whose main address was listed as the national historic landmark the Alamo.

The GAO found that the SBA could have easily done online searches to determine the validity of these fake firms and while it's improved its process slightly for entering the program, it's still shamefully behind.

The SBA took about seven months to process each of these bogus applications and lost documentation, according to the GAO report.

Government Ruling Invites Everyone to Make an iPhone App

Anyone and everyone can now develop applications not approved by iPhone maker Apple, thanks to a government ruling this week.

The Monday ruling by the U.S. Copyright Office exempts iPhone application developers and others from being sued for breaking the encryption on the iPhone’s operating system in order to run third party applications not approved by Apple.

“The evidence supports the contention that a technological measure is adversely affecting adding applications to the iPhone,” wrote Marybeth Peters, the copyright office's top lawyer, in her recommendations (pdf).

The ruling lays out that consumers can now break into "computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications, when they have been lawfully obtained, with computer programs on the telephone handset."

The iPhone has spawned a cottage industry of application developers and small businesses. Some small firms sprouted up to help other small businesses develop their own iPhone app. I wrote a story about it for MainStreet.com.

The 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act says it's illegal to break the digital locks protecting copyright owners’ content unless it’s for a non-infringing use, which is something the Copyright Office and Librarian of Congress define every three years.

The Copyright Office said in its remarks that the record indicates that the total number of "jailbroken" iPhones constitutes up to 10 percent of all iPhones sold.

Members of wireless industry firms are cautioning users who jailbreak their mobile devices, saying tinkering around with the system could invite security breaches, malware and system instability.

SBA Looking for Proposals for Regional Clusters Initiative

The Small Business Administration recently announced its Regional Clusters Initiative, which aims to accelerate small business opportunities in existing business clusters by offering technical assistance, business training, counseling and other services.

The SBA is looking to work with 10 to 15 existing regional clusters nationwide in fiscal 2010. These clusters will create and follow roadmaps that enhance their region's ability to compete on a national and global scale, attract further business investments, and create sustainable job growth.

SBA will accept proposals from local and regional cluster initiatives for funding of up to $600,000 per cluster. SBA is launching two programs within the initiative: Regional Innovation  Clusters and Advanced Defense Technologies.

SBA support will be targeted toward the needs of entrepreneurs and small businesses. To access the agency's request for proposals to participate, frequently asked questions about the initiative and more information, go to www.sba.gov/clusters/index.html. More info on the RIC and ADT clusters is also available at www.fedbizopps.gov.

Beanetics. It's Cool Beans.

I took a drive out to the dog groomer last week. It's a fair distance to go to get a dog groomed, but one-third the cost of the going rate for the same services in my neighborhood as I talked about in an earlier post.

While my daughter and I were waiting, we thought we'd go explore the neighborhood and stumbled upon Beanetics, a coffee shop in Annandale. It's an espresso-sized little place with a few local artist photographs on the walls and when we paid a visit, two people were surfing away at their laptops thanks to free wi-fi. It's in a subdued strip mall, which like many similar malls in the United States, have hidden gems.

Beanetics is actually a little cramped, although we had a good time. What intrigued us the most was the enormous bright-red coffee roaster and scale that take up a significant portion of the shop's space - and what intrigued me the most was the excellent coffee.

I'm not an avid coffee drinker by any stretch of the imagination, but I spend a lot of time in coffee shops to file stories and meet contacts and usually try out a cup where ever I happen to be. People often suggest to meet at Starbucks because it's so widely known and prevalent. (In fact, there's so many, I've several times been in situations where someone I was supposed to meet has been sitting in a Starbucks half a block away because we weren't specific enough to say the exact address, only the neighborhood.)

Beanetics bills itself as Annandale's only independently owned micro-roasting facility, and it sells 15 different kinds of fresh-roasted coffee daily.

The company has a colorful brochure, which advertises that "customers can watch as we use a computer-controlled roaster in our glass-enclosed roasting room." That sounds a bit fancy, but it's true.

After we finished our snacks, which they brought to us, I asked the barista (who is also the roaster) if he could give us a "tour" of the roasting room. He took myself and my six year old into the room, explained how the massive, shiny machine worked and let her take home a few pre-roasted greenish-gray coffee beans. When we showed them to her younger brother, he was greenish-gray with envy.

I enjoyed our experience and applaud the employees for taking the time out to show us how things worked. It's also an experience we couldn't have had at Starbucks.

IRS Releases Proposed Regs to Charge Fee for Tax Preparers

The Internal Revenue Service has released proposed regulations that would establish a fee for individuals who apply for a preparer tax identification number, or PTIN. 

Proposed regulations that were issued in March would require some tax return preparers to obtain a PTIN.  The IRS is working to finalize those proposed regulations, which are the first of a series of steps planned to increase oversight of federal tax return preparation.

The proposed regulations (REG-139343-08) would establish a fee of $50, payable to the IRS, to cover technology costs, as well as compliance and outreach efforts associated with the new PTIN program.

The proposed regulations also ask for an additional fee that the IRS says is expected to be substantially lower than $50 to be charged by the third-party vendor chosen to operate the new online system. That fee amount is expected to be announced soon, as well as additional details about the launch of a new online application system, according to the tax agency. These fees could change in future years as program costs are reevaluated.

Agencies are directed by the Office of Management and Budget to charge user fees to recover the cost of services that convey special benefits beyond those available to the general public, such as the authority to prepare federal tax returns for compensation.
    
Tax professionals and others have until Aug. 23, 2010, to submit comments regarding the proposed regulations. The official publication date of these proposed regulations is July 23.

In January, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman announced the results of a comprehensive six-month study of the tax return preparer industry, which proposed new registration, testing, and continuing education of tax return preparers.

"With more than 80 percent of American households using a tax preparer or tax software to help them prepare and file their taxes, higher standards for the tax return preparer community will significantly enhance protections and service for taxpayers, increase confidence in the tax system and result in greater compliance with tax laws over the long term," according to the IRS.

We're Happy When Busy, But Want to be Lazy

We're happier when we're busy, but our instinct is to be lazy, according to researchers whose data was published in the British Psychological Society's Research Digest blog.


When given a choice between executing a task for 15 minutes or waiting quietly for 15 minutes, most people chose inertia. But the students who worked on their task reported that they were subsequently much happier than those who chose inactivity.

Researcher Christopher Hsee did a couple of studies, including one asking students to evaluate a bracelet and then were given the option of either spending 15 minutes lolling around or 15 minutes disassembling and rebuilding the bracelet. Those given the option to reassemble the bracelet into a new design tended to take up the challenge over those who just had to rebuild the same thing. Those who took up the challenge reported feeling happier than those who sat idle.


Hsee's team say there is a case for encouraging "futile busyness" or "busyness serving no purpose other than to prevent idleness. Such activity is more realistic than constructive busyness and less evil than destructive busyness."


In most small businesses, there is not a lot of opportunity for lazing around. It's more of a mentality addressing "how many of these tasks can I realistically get done on my to-do list today while addressing multiple unexpected situations."


But I think it is food for thought. While most of us crave "down time," in reality we feel good when we are asked to offer new ways to create things (like rebuilding a bracelet into a new design) and are busy. I think it's also an indicator that it can help to include all levels of employees in some of the decision-making process that goes on at a company. It's empowering and allows growth.


By the way, according to the study, airports have tapped into this "futile busyness" concept. Some airports have deliberately increased the walk to the luggage carousel so as to reduce the time passengers spend waiting around for luggage to arrive.