Legal
Solutions for Small Businesses
Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C.
October
2010 - Vol 1, Issue 3
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| Greetings! |
Welcome
to the third edition of the Legal Solutions for Small Businesses
newsletter! In this issue, upcoming events that Elizabeth Lewis
will be presenting at, updates from the Law Office of E.C. Lewis,
P.C., and the 1099 nightmare created by the health care reform
legislation.
As always, you can get the latest news by following the Law Office
of E.C. Lewis, P.C. reading the Legal Solutions for Small
Businesses Blog and on Facebook.
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| Upcoming
Events |
- I will be presenting on contract law basics at the North Metro
SBDC center
- Included topics include the most common contracts small
businesses use, what the boiler plate language in a contract means,
and when contracts should be in writing
- RSVP is required
- No fee to attend
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Updates
from the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C.
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Check the Legal
Solutions for Small Business blog at www.eclewis.com for Today's Legal Minute for Small
Businesses.
The end of the year is right around the corner. Are you prepared
financially? It is a good idea to touch base with your accountant
to ensure that all IRS documents required have been filed and that
you have paid enough in estimated tax payments. Are you prepared
legally? It is a good idea to review any contracts you have signed
to see if there is an automatic renewal provision you need to be
aware of (or the need to contact someone to renew it) and to
contact your attorney to see if there are any legal documents your
business is missing.
As always, if you
have any questions, please call or email me!
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1099s
and the Health Care Reform Act
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When
the health care reform bill passed earlier this year, the talk on
most major new outlets was about how the bill affected people's
insurance and medical care. What wasn't talked about, except for
further back on the finance and business sections of websites, was
the hidden paperwork nightmare that the health care bill contained
for business owners.
As part of the provisions of the bill, businesses will be required
to send an IRS Form 1099 to every business and individual with
which it spend over $600.00. So for instance, if you use your cell
phone for business and spend over $600.00 a year with ATT, you will
be required to send a 1099 to ATT starting in 2012.
In addition to being a paperwork nightmare as most small businesses
would be required to send out tens if not hundreds of 1099s, it
could also create an identity theft nightmare. As each company that
sells more than $600.00 worth of services would have to give out
their EIN to the businesses they work with, the chances for that
information to fall into the wrong hands increases. As discussed
in the last issue of the Legal Solutions for Small Business
Newsletter, the Colorado Secretary of State has issued an alert
that businesses' information is being used to open up accounts by
identity thieves. With the release of a business's EIN to an even
larger amount of people because of the 1099 issue, identity theft
will also rise.
Recent proposals to reduce the requirements were defeated in the
Senate earlier last month. Luckily, the 1099 requirements are not
set to go into effect until 2012 giving legislators a year to fix
this problem. If you believe the new requirements will drastically
affect your business, I encourage you to contact your
Representatives and Senators to tell them to repeal this
requirement. You can find your Representative here and your Senators here.
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The information and materials in this
newsletter are provided by the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C. for
general informational purposes only and not for the purpose of
providing legal advice or giving a legal opinion on any specific
facts or circumstances. The receipt of this newsletter, or the use
of the information contained therein, does not create an
attorney-client relationship between you and the Law Office of E.C.
Lewis, P.C. or between you and Elizabeth Lewis. The submission of
information to the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C. by e-mail does
not create an attorney-client relationship between you and the Law
Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C. If you email information or materials to
the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C. for a matter for which the Law
Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C. does not already represent you, that
information and material may not be privileged or confidential, may
be disclosed to other parties, and may not be
secure.
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