Our monthly roundup of top stories

August 1, 2019 -- Volume 18, No. 8

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What Is 'Income' for Your Business

Not all monetary increases in your business are treated as income for tax purposes. Separating what you feel as more wealth from what is actually taxable income can help you make tax savvy decisions for your business. Here's a rundown of some items to note: Read More

What Business Books to Read this Summer

"Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter." Nora Ephron -- Did you know that reading correlates with success? Tom Corley ( Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals) says that 85% of successful people read two or more self-improvement or educational books each month. Whether summertime gives you some extra time for reading or you’re busy but don’t want to miss good reads for your business, here are some ideas. Read More

Another Healthcare Acronym Arrives: How Does it Compare?

ICHRAs versus QSEHRAs -- Small employers, which are those not subject to the employer mandate because they have fewer than 50 full-time and full-time equivalent employees, are always looking for ways to provide health coverage for their staff on an affordable basis. Looking ahead to 2020, small employers have two ways in which they can reimburse employees for their individually-obtained health coverage. Read More

Getting Out of Your Commercial Lease

So, you’re in an office that no longer suits your needs: the space is too large, too small, inaccessible to public transportation, or for any other reason. Or perhaps you want or need to relocate to another city or state. If your lease has more than just a few months left to run, you probably want to find a way to end your monthly lease payments in a legal and stress-free way. Read More

Is Your Website ADA Compliant for the Visually Impaired?

There are more than 25 million people in the U.S. with visual impairment. Unless your website has the requisite features to enable the visually impaired to know what’s there, you’re foreclosing opportunities to so many people and exposing yourself to potential problems. Read More

QBI Deduction and Tax Savings

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created a new type of deduction—the qualified business income (QBI) deduction—designed to lower the effective tax rate for owners of pass-through entities…sole proprietors (including independent contractors), limited liability company members, partners, and S corporation shareholders. Read More

Developing Leadership Qualities: Empathy

Empathy is defined as the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner. That’s a mouthful. For some, it connotes a purely emotional response. But in truth, empathy is an important skill for being a successful leader. Read More

Small Businesses Get RESPECT

New Law Ensures RESPECT for Small Businesses -- Until now, the IRS has been able to seize funds from small business owners’ bank accounts if they came from cash deposits that seemed suspect. Now, under a new law that received unanimous support in Congress, small business owners are protected from such seizures. Read More

Entrepreneurs Who Made the Revolution

It’s been 243 years since a group of men in Philadelphia signed the Declaration of Independence and started a revolution. Most of these 56 men were small business owners, lawyers, doctors and farmers; 14 were plantation owners. These men risked it all: “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” Here’s a list from the National Archives of the signers and their occupations to remind us that our businesses, our jobs, and our lives can be on the line when freedom is at stake. Read More

Secrets You Must Know about Taxes when Operating a Business in More than One State

If your business has grown beyond your state’s boundaries so that you operate in more than one location, this can trigger tax complexities you need to address. Here are some to consider:

Read the full article at SmallBizTrends.com

Best Hiring Practices: What You Can and Can’t Ask a Job Applicant

In the course of your search for your next employee there are federal and state rules you will want to keep in mind.

Read the full article at SBA.gov