Microbusiness News Briefs Podcast

Tax Gap Panel Says Show Me The Money

editor@microbusinessnewsbriefs.com (Dawn Rivers Baker) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:11:54 +0000

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You know, one of the most amazing things about the federal government is how often lawmakers seem to react in knee-jerk ways when faced with a problem. The tax gap is a good example; funny how it wasn’t until the GAO and the CBO got involved that it occurred to anybody to chase the money instead of focusing on punishing noncompliant taxpayers. Results count — even for the feds. Politicians continue to talk about jobs, but not about self-employment (otherwise known as self-created jobs). I guess they haven’t incorporated that particular perspective into their thinking yet … more on that in this week’s Policy Matters column. For more information: GAO Report: Highlights of a Joint Forum on Tax Compliance (PDF) National Association for the Self-Employed Hearing Archive: The Role of Green Technologies in Spurring Economic Growth (YouTube) SBA Office of Advocacy r3 Home

Technorati Tags: taxes, tax compliance, green technology, manufacturing, construction, House Small Business Committee, regulations, microbusiness

Scammers Prey on Would-Be Self-Employed

editor@microbusinessnewsbriefs.com (Dawn Rivers Baker) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:15:01 +0000

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When you hear about the tale of Richard Nieswonger and his string of business opportunities from scammer hell, you find yourself wondering why the man isn’t back in jail. At least, I did. Bilking people of almost $10,000 each to peddle guidance on how to hide your assets in offshore corporations … and at a time when Congress is already breathing down our necks about the tax gap? You also have to wonder why people would fall for a so-called business opportunity that entails making a $9,800 investment without knowing precisely what the “opportunity” is. I can only conclude that some people really want that self-employment lifestyle pretty badly and that some form of reasonable education for those poor folks should be a lot more readily available than it is. I didn’t mention this in either the MicroEnterprise Journal article or in the News Briefs, but the suggestion I mentioned about asking online microbusiness owners how they’re doing if you want to know how they’re doing actually came from me. I was actually able to meet with Congressman Gonzalez to talk to him a bit about what kind of information he could reasonably expect to get from the large companies that provide the platforms we use, versus the sort of information he can get from actual microbusiness owners. For that matter, I was able to seize the opportunity to tell me a few things about microbusinesses in general that appeared to pique his interest. And, while I was tickled pink that he was kind enough to publicly thank me for my input, I’m much happier about the degree to which he seemed to have incorporated my suggestions into his subcommittee hearing. And, of course, the fact that hearing witnesses told the subcommittee a number of things that I had already told Congressman Gonzalez was fun, too. For more information: Press Release: FTC Secures Full Proceeds of Business Opportunity Scammers $100,000 Performance Bond Hearing Archive: The Impact of Online Advertising on Small Firms Hearing Archive: Examining Solutions to Cope with the Rise in Home Heating Oil Prices S. 1631, Small Business Emergency Fuel Assistance Act of 2007 (THOMAS)

Technorati Tags: microbusiness, law enforcement, Federal Trade Commission, business opportunities, online advertising, e-commerce, Congressman Charles Gonzalez, fuel prices, home heating oil, Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, Senator John Kerry, Senator Olympia Snowe

NASE Updates Micro Health Coverage Picture

editor@microbusinessnewsbriefs.com (Dawn Rivers Baker) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:39:31 +0000

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If Senator Robert Byrd actually manages to keep his Senate Appropriations Committee on their marks and gets all 12 federal spending bills out of committee by the end of July — and that is his publicly stated goal — I, for one, will be highly impressed. The Senate never moves that fast to do anything. Well, okay … almost never. The survey from the National Association for the Self-Employed on microbusinesses is good stuff, as far as it goes. I will say, though, I really wish somebody would conduct research on microbusinesses that would correctly weigh respondents by business size and gross receipts to more accurately reflect the actual population of microbusiness owners. These results are interesting but, even with more nonemployers in the sample than there were last time, they still only have about half of what they’d need for a proportionte reflection of the U.S. business population. The respondents in this survey also have higher median average sales revenues than is the norm among all microbusiness owners. I’m sorry but that sort of disparity bothers me. So, shoot me. For more information: National Association for the Self-Employed House Committee on Small Business House Committee on Appropriations Senate Committee on Appropriations

Technorati Tags: National Association for the Self-Employed, NASE, health insurance, microbusiness, micro-corporation, tax reform, federal budget, SBA

Panel Explores Future Biofuel Technologies

editor@microbusinessnewsbriefs.com (Dawn Rivers Baker) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:45:51 +0000

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I called last week’s House Small Business Committee subcommittee hearing a ‘fascinating’ exploration of where our renewables future may be heading but that really doesn’t do the event justice. The best part of the program were those occasions when Representative Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) held the floor, and anything I might say about it would be a poor substitute for his passion and eloquence. If you have a chance, please use the link below to head to the hearing archive and listen for yourself. One thing that I’ve found rather peculiar is that Tom Sullivan, Chief Counsel for the SBA Office of Advocacy, told me during my interview with him earlier this year that the IRS has the authority to create a standard home office deduction themselves, without needing to be ordered to do so by Congressional mandate. As hard as the IRS is reputedly working to make tax compliance easier for small and microbusinesses, you have to wonder why they haven’t done that — if, indeed, they do have such authority. It would certainly be much more efficient than waiting for Congress to do it! Speaking of Advocacy, one of the things they want us all to use their annual small business lending report for is shopping for credit. They figure it’ll help to know which available banks are actually in that marketplace — and it might, for all I know. Then again, given the problems so many microbusiness owners report with access to capital, it may only serve the purpose of rubbing salt into the wound. Tough to say, really. For more information: Hearing Archive: “Second Generation Biofuels: The New Frontier for Small Business” (Witness List) | (Video) Home Office Deduction Simplification Act (H.R. 6214) (THOMAS) SBA Office of Advocacy Advocacy Banking Study, 2007 (includes results by state)

Technorati Tags: microbusiness, renewable energy, peak oil, alternative feedstock, home office deduction, taxes, financing, small business lending

Hearing Explores Easing Energy Cost Pain

editor@microbusinessnewsbriefs.com (Dawn Rivers Baker) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:59:09 +0000

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Last week was downright bizarre, wasn’t it? In political news, the long-awaited end of the Democratic presidential primary so thoroughly dominated absolutely everything that it seemed as if there wasn’t much else happening. You have to feel for John McCain, trying to make his voice heard about the media frenzy fray surrounding that Democratic primary. I’m sure a lot of people will call that media bias, too, but in fact it was something much simpler. It was drama, and lots of it. Fundamentally, journalists are writers, storytellers. It was simply too good a story to pass up. So, now that’s over with, possibly everybody can turn their attention to something else — at least, for a few minutes, until Senators Obama and McCain schedule their first debate. The big story — now and in the foreseeable future — is energy. How much it costs, why it costs that much, what can be done about it and who is best positioned to do it … and, of course, what entrepreneurial opportunities are available to be realized from the current mess. Still, this isn’t going to be easy. Our economy is in transition, thanks to this issue around oil, and economic transitions are usually painful. The big question here is how best to lessen the pain for consumers and for small businesses. That’s a tough enough question all by itself. For more information: Hearing archive: The Rising Costs of Energy: Challenges and Opportunities for Small Business SBA Office of Advocacy Press release: Senate Approves $101 Million Budget Increase for Small Business Programs Press release: FY09 Budget Deals A Blow To Small Businesses

Technorati Tags: energy, economy, bankruptcy law, research, federal budget, politics, small business, microbusiness

Another Scuffle Over 7(a) Loan Caps

editor@microbusinessnewsbriefs.com (Dawn Rivers Baker) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 05:32:47 +0000

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This has been another one of those singularly unexciting weeks in the world of microbusiness news, although our lead story — about the recently imposed cap on the 7(a) Community Express program — has all the elements of very high drama to recommend it, except for a palpating audience of passionate proponents. In some ways, that’s too bad because, as I mentioned in my article, this program has a lot to recommend it to a microbusiness owner. Unfortunately, it is geographically targeted toward low and moderate income communities, which means it is almost certainly unavailable to large swathes of microbusiness owners who could otherwise use it. Same stuff, different day. I’m expecting activity to pick up this week, when Congress returns from their Memorial Day recess. In the meantime, we’ll just call this very dull week a dress rehearsal for August. For more information: SBA Community Express lending program Small Business Lending Improvements Act (H.R. 1332) (THOMAS) The Conference Board Credit and Debit Card Receipt Clarification Act (H.R. 4008, S. 2978)

Technorati Tags: SBA, financing, access to capital, Community Express, economy, tort reform, small business, microbusiness

Small Firms Avoid Debt When They Can

editor@microbusinessnewsbriefs.com (Dawn Rivers Baker) — Tue, 27 May 2008 05:02:14 +0000

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In case you were wondering about how it comes about that those small firms that are “younger, smaller, less profitable, less liquid, and less credit worthy” are the ones opting for debt financing, you should know that the research in question used the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Small Business Finance for their data set. And that particular survey does not make any distinction between credit card debt and more traditional term loan financing. Just thought I should clear that up. The thing is, larger firms with higher annual sales and more assets tend to eschew debt financing in favor of retained earnings re-invested in the business, i.e., internal financing. I’m sure those younger firms would do the same thing if they had the spare earnings to work with. Microbusiness owners, especially, prefer to avoid causing their firms to become awash in debt, sometimes even at the expense of growing their revenues. For more information: SBA Office of Advocacy Hearing Archive: Pending Nomination: Honorable Steven Preston, Secretary-Designate, Department of Housing and Urban Development SBA HUBZone Program

Technorati Tags: research, access to capital, financing, SBA, Steven Preston, Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUBZone, federal procurement, microbusiness

Food Prices Prove Knotty Problem For All

editor@microbusinessnewsbriefs.com (Dawn Rivers Baker) — Mon, 19 May 2008 05:45:24 +0000

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You know, you might not think that the price of food has much to do with your microbusiness — although, I expect you wouldn’t argue that it has quite a lot to do with your life, which you’ll have to admit is much more important. But that’s where you’d be wrong. Because the issue of the rapidly increasing cost of food and what some of the solutions to that issue might entail, could have a lot to do with the very structure of our economic lives. And that’s something that is very much worth thinking about. No doubt there are a lot of very smart people working on this problem but I’m planning to weigh in on the subject at length this week, with a series of posts at The Journal Blog. And, needless to say, I’d love it if you would drop by and join the conversation. I expect it’ll be wide-ranging — no surprising because the subject of food touches on so many aspects of life. Meanwhile, besides talking about food, there’s the SBA reauthorization and new small business data from the National Small Business Association. For more information: Hearing Archive: Food Prices and Small Business SBA Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2008 (S. 2920) (THOMAS) National Small Business Association 2008 NSBA Survey of Small and Mid-Sized Business (PDF)

Technorati Tags: food prices, energy prices, SBA reauthorization, National Small Business Association, survey, microbusiness

Fed Forestalls Congress with Credit Card Regs

editor@microbusinessnewsbriefs.com (Dawn Rivers Baker) — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:00:13 +0000

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I didn’t have time to get into the particulars of the Fed’s proposed credit card industry regulations in the podcast, so if you’re wondering what exactly they have in mind, they include: ~ Banks would be prohibited from increasing the rate on a pre-existing credit card balance (except under limited circumstances) and must allow the consumer to pay off that balance over a reasonable period of time ~ Banks would be prohibited from applying payments in excess of the minimum in a manner that maximizes interest charges ~ Banks would be required to give consumers the full benefit of discounted promotional rates on credit cards by applying payments in excess of the minimum to any higher-rate balances first, and by providing a grace period for purchases where the consumer is otherwise eligible ~ Banks would be prohibited from imposing interest charges using the “two-cycle” method, which computes interest on balances on days in billing cycles preceding the most recent billing cycle ~ Banks would be required to provide consumers a reasonable amount of time to make payments As Congressman Frank noted, a lot of what’s here is pretty much the same as what’s in the credit card industry reform bills floating around in Congress. But the legislation has more stuff in it and I have a hunch those Congressional Democrats may well want to push for the additional consumer protection measures. Of course, they might just as easily wait until the next Administration for this one, if President Bush proves intractable. For more information: Federal Reserve Proposes Rules to Prohibit Unfair Practices Regarding Credit Cards NASE Letter to Senate Finance Committee (PDF) NASE Issue Brief on the Tax Gap Quarterly Indicators: The Economy and Small Business, SBA Office of Advocacy (PDF)

Technorati Tags: financing, credit cards, taxes, tax gap, economy, National Association for the Self-Employed, microbusiness

Small Lenders Stand Ready But Need Help

editor@microbusinessnewsbriefs.com (Dawn Rivers Baker) — Mon, 05 May 2008 04:12:57 +0000

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Last week, there was yet another hearing on the credit crunch and small business access to capital, this time before a House panel. The difference here, though, was that there was nobody testifying on behalf of the SBA and, for some reason, that seemed to make the situation quite a lot clearer. Make of that what you will. What’s really frustrating is that Congress has proposed legislation containing the tools to fix the problem but, because it just seems to take them forever to do anything having to do with small business policy, by the time they get around to dealing with said legislative proposals, it’ll be too late. One of the bills in questions, which re-authorizes the SBA lending programs, has been stalled for almost a year because somebody in the Senate has a hold on the bill. I like politics, I really do. It’s the finest spectator sport in the world. But sometimes, it gets really frustrating. Also this week, we have news of another legislative proposal that spells more paperwork for microbusiness employers and research on women business owners and human capital. And, as always, my Policy Matters column. For more information: The Effect of the Credit Crunch on Small Business Access to Capital: Hearing Archive (YouTube); Witness List NASE 2007 Microbusiness Retirement Costs Survey (PDF) NASE 2008 Automatic IRA Member Survey Automatic IRA Act of 2007 (S. 1141, H.R. 2167) (THOMAS) Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity SBA Office of Advocacy

Technorati Tags: access to capital, financing, employee benefits, retirement savings, women-owned business, microbusiness