f you really want to know how small businesses are doing in the current economy, you have to approach the issue from a broad perspective.
Posted: Apr 13th, 2012
U.S. small business owners appear less confident in the economy.
Posted: Apr 12th, 2012
The deadline for filing income tax returns is quickly approaching.
Posted: Apr 10th, 2012
President Barack Obama has launched an election year effort to increase taxes on millionaires, touting the so-called "Buffet Rule" (after billionaire investment guru Warren Buffet) that calls for an effective tax rate of 30 percent on earners o...
Posted: Apr 10th, 2012
Advocates of space exploration are searching for new ways to ferry Americans into orbit.
Posted: Mar 19th, 2012
Entrepreneurs looking to incorporate in California may want to consider a recent survey of the state's small business climate.
Posted: Mar 16th, 2012
Entrepreneurs appear more confident in the progress of the economic recovery.
Posted: Mar 14th, 2012
With tax season approaching, many small business owners are looking for a more convenient way to file their corporate taxes. For that reason, most states have adopted e-filing services, hoping that these less resource-intensive processes will lead to lar...
Posted: Mar 13th, 2012
The U.S. financial services industry continues to face a post-recession wake-up call.
Posted: Mar 12th, 2012
With 10 states holding primaries and caucuses for the Republican presidential nomination this Super Tuesday, some Americans will vote for the candidate they believe can lead the country toward prosperity.
Posted: Mar 6th, 2012
With months to go before the U.S. presidential election, voters can expect the issue of taxes - particularly in regards to corporate income - to dominate much of the conversation.
Posted: Mar 2nd, 2012
The Obama administration unveiled plans Wednesday to lower the top tax rate for corporations.
Posted: Feb 22nd, 2012
If you're thinking about forming an LLC in New York or the District of Columbia, you may want to think again.
Posted: Feb 17th, 2012
What's the deal with small businesses?
Posted: Feb 15th, 2012
Last month, TV satirist and comedian Stephen Colbert launched a pseudo-presidential bid.
Posted: Feb 14th, 2012
The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will do a lot to upend the U.S. healthcare system, the most notable benefit of which will be to provide coverage to an additional 30 million Americans. But how will it affect small business owners and e...
Posted: Feb 13th, 2012
The National Small Business Association reported earlier this week that small business confidence has reached a three-year high.
Posted: Feb 3rd, 2012
The White House is moving to stimulate the U.S. small business sector through a series of proposed tax breaks.
Posted: Feb 2nd, 2012
Tax season is approaching, and with recent improvements in the economy, small businesses cannot afford to overpay on their dues or miss any crucial regulatory procedures.
Posted: Feb 1st, 2012
It may be too early to tell whether President Barack Obama struck a chord with small business owners and entrepreneurs in Tuesday night's State of the Union address, but initial reactions are favorable. Of course, if the country can agree on one thing, i...
Posted: Jan 25th, 2012
Last week, President Barack Obama took the initial step in reorganizing a considerable portion of the federal government. It will involve the merging of several agencies into the Department of Commerce and the elevation of the Small Business Administrati...
Posted: Jan 16th, 2012
There's no shortage of talk about Facebook's looming $10 billion initial public offering. Analysts point out that the social network's estimated $100 billion valuation would make it the largest internet IPO in history, trouncing the current record-holder...
Posted: Jan 13th, 2012
Small businesses drove a considerable uptick in private sector hiring last month, allaying many economists' fears of a major surge in unemployment.
Posted: Jan 5th, 2012
A lot has been said about crowdfunding - the process of raising capital through social media and online donor networks.
Posted: Jan 4th, 2012
Borrowing by small businesses reached its highest level in nearly four years in November, offering further indication that small companies are investing in growth as the economy continues to rebound.The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index...
Posted: Jan 3rd, 2012
The pace of the U.S. economic recovery will pick up next year, although growth will remain tepid for some time to come.
Posted: Dec 27th, 2011
The volume of small bank loans to businesses in the U.S. has been waning since the recession began, according to data recently released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.While overall commercial and industrial lending by banks has risen for fi...
Posted: Dec 19th, 2011
Small businesses are often cited as engines of economic growth, with their history of job creation and entrepreneurial innovation. Of course, the narrative in recent months has shifted toward how policy can stir activity in the sector and progress the ec...
Posted: Dec 15th, 2011
Congress may actually have flouted its partisan gamesmanship for a few brief moments to provide support for small businesses, particularly those in research and development fields.
Posted: Dec 14th, 2011
An uptick in sales and hiring projections drove up confidence among U.S. small businesses in November, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Federation of Independent Business.The NFIB's Small Business Optimism Index climbed 1.8 poin...
Posted: Dec 13th, 2011
With more and more Americans completing the brunt of their holiday shopping during Thanksgiving weekend, a sort of sales lull has emerged in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Posted: Dec 12th, 2011
Partisan impasse in Washington continues to block any sort of meaningful economic legislation.
Posted: Dec 9th, 2011
Although the manufacturing sector has been one of the hardest hit by the recession, it appears to be more promising for the coming year than its counterparts in the service sector, according to a new report from the Institute for Supply Management.The se...
Posted: Dec 8th, 2011
The year is winding down and projections for 2012 are beginning to take shape. Although recent trends seem to flout the idea of a double-dip recession, pessimism and general dismay are rampant. Most notably, high unemployment and stagnant wage growth - m...
Posted: Dec 7th, 2011
This holiday shopping season is expected to be the most mobile-friendly yet, as consumers hit stores with smartphones and tablets firmly in hand to research deals, purchase products, and even process payments.According to a survey released this week by P...
Posted: Dec 7th, 2011
The U.S. unemployment rate fell to the lowest rate in more than two years last month, effectively putting fears of a double-dip recession to bed. The Department of Labor reported Friday that the jobless rate now stands at 8.6 percent, well below October&...
Posted: Dec 2nd, 2011
Private sector payrolls added an estimated 206,000 jobs in November, according to the ADP Employment Report, surpassing many analysts' projections and offering hope for a recovery in the much-ailed U.S. job market.As usual, small businesses accounted...
Posted: Dec 1st, 2011
Three hundred small businesses in the U.S. are one step closer to a contracting award from NASA. Proposals were selected through the space agency's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.T...
Posted: Nov 30th, 2011
Defying many analysts' projections, retail sales over Black Friday weekend broke records and offered a wave of hope for the state of the economic recovery, much of which has been mired in recent months by weak consumer sentiment.According to the data...
Posted: Nov 28th, 2011
When it comes to growth within the small business sector, owners may run off a variety of reasons why markets have stalled and rendered their expansion efforts a challenge.Most analysts point to hiring in the sector as one of the leading economic problem...
Posted: Nov 23rd, 2011
The current economy has been anything but a playground for entrepreneurs looking to form an LLC. While high unemployment has racked worker sentiment and driven up turnover rates, a weak credit market has made financing a challenge.With market conditions ...
Posted: Nov 22nd, 2011
Members of a 12-person bipartisan "supercommittee" are expected to announce they have failed to come up with $1.2 trillion in spending cuts, triggering an automatic $1 trillion in reductions over nine years. Most of those cuts will target defense and nat...
Posted: Nov 21st, 2011
Municipal officials have launched a nationwide crackdown on Occupy Wall Street camps in their respective cities, citing growing public safety and sanitation concerns as the reason for a slew of recent evictions. Encampments in Portland, San Francisco, an...
Posted: Nov 15th, 2011
While recent studies have shown a marked slowdown in confidence among small businesses, the sector appears to anticipate otherwise stable revenue and employment levels in coming months.According to a recent survey by TD Bank, two-thirds of small firms ex...
Posted: Nov 15th, 2011
The U.S. Small Business Administration has ramped up its lending activities in recent years. While the agency does not actually distribute loans, it offers guaranteed repayments to banks of up to 90 percent.Since the recession, business leaders and entre...
Posted: Nov 14th, 2011
This week is Global Entrepreneurship Week, a worldwide celebration of innovators and job creators hosted by the Kauffman Foundation. With a focus on driving global economic growth through startup and entrepreneurial activity, GEW arrives amid an otherwis...
Posted: Nov 14th, 2011
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, often a punching bag for frustrated business advocates, asserted this week that policy makers need to think carefully about how to support small businesses.Since the economy tanked in 2008, the Fed has been leveragi...
Posted: Nov 9th, 2011
Optimism among U.S. small businesses nudged upward in October, although conditions remain too bleak to offer an otherwise hopeful forecast for the economy. The National Federation of Independent Business' Small Business Optimism Index increased 1.3 p...
Posted: Nov 8th, 2011
While Congress continues to struggle reaching an agreement over how to address the nation's looming employment crisis, Americans appear to hold the most faith in small or local enterprises.According to a new Gallup poll, approximately eight in 10 sur...
Posted: Nov 7th, 2011
How successful last Saturday's Bank Transfer Day was in driving consumers to community banks and credit unions may not be known until large institutions release their quarterly financial reports.However, according to the Credit Union National Associa...
Posted: Nov 7th, 2011
The employment situation improved slightly, albeit unenthusiastically, in October, as payrolls added 80,000 jobs on the month, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department. Only the private sector showed net job gains with 104,000 new positi...
Posted: Nov 4th, 2011
Lending to small businesses grew in September, although at a slower pace, according to the most recent Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index. The 14 percent increase marks the 14th consecutive month of double-digit monthly gains and a sligh...
Posted: Nov 3rd, 2011
The U.S. private sector added 110,000 jobs last month, according to the most recent ADP National Employment Report.The data surpass many economists' expectations and provide a few rays of hope ahead of Friday's employment report from the Departme...
Posted: Nov 2nd, 2011
Small businesses, creators of roughly two-thirds of all new jobs, added 30,000 positions in October, according to the latest Small Business Employment Index from Intuit. This figure marks a 0.14 increase over the month before and a 1.17 percent hike from...
Posted: Nov 1st, 2011
A number of business advocacy groups released an open letter to President Barack Obama this week, outlining five key steps to improving conditions for small businesses through comprehensive regulatory reform.The National Federation of Independent Busines...
Posted: Nov 1st, 2011
Last week, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported U.S. student loan debt has now surpassed credit card debt in total volume for the first time ever. The report brought further attention to some of the grievances facing students and recent college ...
Posted: Oct 28th, 2011
The U.S. economy expanded by 2.5 percent during the third quarter, according to preliminary data released Thursday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, allaying many fears of a double-dip recession and offering further proof of a steady, albeit slow, reco...
Posted: Oct 27th, 2011
Unemployment is at 9.1 percent, and the economy needs to create 125,000 jobs per month just to keep up with population growth - it has not done so since April. Meanwhile, economists project the jobless rate will stay north of 8 percent through next year....
Posted: Oct 27th, 2011
As if weak consumer spending, price inflation and a struggling credit market weren’t enough, small businesses have been forced to grapple with rising energy costs as well. According to new research from the National Small Business Association, such...
Posted: Oct 24th, 2011
It's been said that small businesses and entrepreneurs are the drivers of innovation in this country. While that argument may be up for debate, the sector appears to be leading in the green technology sector.According to a report released Thursday by...
Posted: Oct 21st, 2011
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner defended the much-criticized and now defunct Small Business Lending Fund this week, arguing the final volume of administered loans was ample proof of its success.The SBLF was a $30 billion pool of capital available to ...
Posted: Oct 19th, 2011
Perhaps giving weight to some of the grievances among the Occupy Wall Street protesters, total student loan debts are expected to surpass $1 trillion for the first time this year, a new report from USA Today shows.The average full-time undergraduate stud...
Posted: Oct 19th, 2011
The U.S. has long held itself as a bastion of business and economic might. While its historical credentials may warrant this standing, trends in recent years have slid in the opposite direction.Forbes magazine's most recent rankings of the best count...
Posted: Oct 17th, 2011
While the U.S. labor market is not expected to improve much over the next year, a new report suggests wage growth in the private sector may, albeit mildly.The third quarter Wage Trend Indicator from analytics firm BNA climbed to 98.36, up from 98.21 in t...
Posted: Oct 13th, 2011
The U.S. Senate failed to pass President Barack Obama's American Jobs Act Tuesday evening, as all 46 Republicans and two Democrats voted against the measure, which needed 60 votes to pass.The plan would have allocated $447 billion to job training pro...
Posted: Oct 12th, 2011
A closely watched index of small business confidence edged up in September after months of declines, suggesting the economy may begin to take on a more vigorous recovery.The National Federation of Independent Business' Small Business Optimism Index c...
Posted: Oct 11th, 2011
Facebook, Twitter and Google are joining American Express in promoting this year's Small Business Saturday. The date, the Saturday after Thanksgiving (November 26), is mashed between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and follows a similar consumerist et...
Posted: Oct 11th, 2011
New research may point to why economic sentiment has been so low over the past several months, despite the fact that the recession ended more than two years ago. According to a study by Sentier Research, household income fell more in the years following ...
Posted: Oct 10th, 2011
Read any headline about the current U.S. employment situation and you'll gather it's quite an employer's market right now. Americans are taking lowlier positions at reduced wages just to stay employed.However, the segment of "critical-sk...
Posted: Oct 10th, 2011
The U.S. employment situation was largely unchanged in September, even as payrolls added a collective 103,000 positions, according to data released Friday by the Department of Labor. Unemployment remained at 9.1 percent, as most of the jobless rates for ...
Posted: Oct 7th, 2011
Small businesses have decaying confidence in the U.S. economy, according to a new survey from PNC Financial Services Group.Analysts have been hard-pressed to find hopeful prospects for U.S. or European markets in recent months. Hopes for improvements hav...
Posted: Oct 7th, 2011
Taxpayers and business owners in the state of Texas may face a new penalty fee for late tax filings, as the state comptroller's office seeks to add new revenue streams in light of considerable budget challenges.A report from the office of Texas compt...
Posted: Oct 6th, 2011
Community banks approved more small business loans in September over the previous month, according to a report released Wednesday by Biz2Credit. Lending to small firms also increased among credit unions, community development financial institutions and m...
Posted: Oct 6th, 2011
New York City and its outlying region are extremely diverse, and even more varied is the city's immigrant population. But how do these groups impact the local economy? In one very big way: small business.According to a study released this week by the...
Posted: Oct 5th, 2011
Given the relative strength of Wall Street and the wider financial services sector in comparison to the rest of the U.S. economy, it may be surprising to note how tepid its employment recovery has actually been since the recession began.According to the ...
Posted: Oct 5th, 2011
The economy is headed, inescapably, to another recession, says the Economic Cycle Research Institute. Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of ECRI, argued last week that a recession has likely already begun - an argument that came one day after the Comme...
Posted: Oct 4th, 2011
September may have been a good month for small business - at least in comparison to other recent months. Hiring in the sector expanded 0.3 percent over August, equating to roughly 55,000 new jobs, according to the most recent Small Business Employment In...
Posted: Oct 3rd, 2011
The Small Business Lending Fund - a $30 billion pool of capital set aside as lending incentives for community banks - has been scrubbed. Congress passed the measure last year in an attempt to spur hiring among small firms, but for a number of reasons the...
Posted: Sep 30th, 2011
Small businesses are often touted as bastions of American ingenuity and the innovative spirit that guides it. However, lawmakers like to be selective in what counts as small business.
Posted: Sep 29th, 2011
A number of states and business organizations are challenging the legality of last year's healthcare reform law. This week, the Obama administration is expected to respond to the appeals, which were tendered by 26 states and the National Federation o...
Posted: Sep 28th, 2011
The Obama administration continues to stress the importance of boosting exports as a means of generating new revenue for businesses. Specifically, efforts such as the National Export Initiative, which aims to double business exports by 2015, have been me...
Posted: Sep 28th, 2011
Heightened economic uncertainty, political impasse, high unemployment and ongoing debt crises all collaborated to rack confidence among small businesses in the third quarter.The Vistage CEO Confidence Index, which measures optimism among small business l...
Posted: Sep 27th, 2011
The nation's smallest employers are counted on to produce roughly two-thirds of all new jobs, but recent slowdowns in market activity have discouraged many from hiring. Wage growth has remained flat, and unemployment is expected to float around 9 per...
Posted: Sep 22nd, 2011
Small businesses seeking a line of credit may find relief in a string of lending pledges signed by 13 U.S. banks. The effort is hoped to stimulate hiring and investment among the nation's smallest employers.Vice President Joe Biden and Small Business...
Posted: Sep 21st, 2011
Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy. If you could trace the fundamental problems of the economy down to their roots, consumer confidence would be near the bottom, as it affects businesses' sales and, in turn, emplo...
Posted: Sep 20th, 2011
Once again, Texas has been ranked among the top business climates in the country. This time, Development Counsellors International placed the Lone Star State at the top spot, beating out North Carolina and South Carolina, which took the No. 2 and No. 3 s...
Posted: Sep 19th, 2011
Small businesses in the U.S. continue to reel from adverse conditions. Aside from sporadic pockets of credit availability and widespread consumer pessimism, there are few signs of hope on the horizon.Lately, business owners have begun looking to Presiden...
Posted: Sep 14th, 2011
Undoubtedly, most small business owners in the U.S. were huddled around their computers or television sets Thursday evening to watch President Barack Obama's speech on how the nation's economy can get back on the right track.The purpose of the sp...
Posted: Sep 9th, 2011
A recent proposal by Texas lawmakers to enact a tax break on purchases of yachts that cost more than $250,000 was met with a stir of debate and controversy, especially as the state continues to make draconian budget cuts to education, public safety and h...
Posted: May 11th, 2011
As the state of Texas struggles to find revenue to balance its $27 billion budget shortfall, lawmakers have begun looking for all possible revenue sources.In March, officials agreed to pull $3.2 billion from the state Rainy Day Fund in order to plug curr...
Posted: May 4th, 2011
State budget crises are seemingly being addressed according to the economic philosophies of the parties they are dominated by.In Democrat-led California, for example, lawmakers have largely agreed to a 50-50 split between spending cuts and tax revenue in...
Posted: Apr 29th, 2011
As debates continues to wage in Illinois, Tennessee, Texas, California and New York over whether or not online retailers should be obligated to collect sales tax from customers, one of those states, Texas, moved this week to firmly declare such entities ...
Posted: Apr 28th, 2011
The state of Texas took a step closer to extending a tax cut for small businesses last week at a time when budget cuts to education, healthcare and other programs are widespread in the state, according to the Associated Press.If passed, the measure ...
Posted: Apr 26th, 2011
While many economists and lawmakers may disagree, recent reports from the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council suggest that states' tax systems are intricately linked to their suitability for small businesses.The most recent Business Tax Ind...
Posted: Apr 20th, 2011
Businesses in Arizona may receive substantial tax breaks over the next decade if a bill that passed the state House of Representatives Tuesday is approved by the Senate and signed into law. However, many small companies in the Grand Canyon State may be l...
Posted: Apr 13th, 2011
Small businesses in California continue to flee to more business friendly states like Texas - a trend that has been blamed on the Golden State's massive network of taxes and bureaucratic processes.According to recent data released by the Tax Foundati...
Posted: Apr 12th, 2011
Ongoing Congressional debate over budget and spending cuts has reflected in many ways what's going on at the state level across the country. But as lawmakers struggle to reach an agreement this week, the federal debate is becoming an increasingly dan...
Posted: Apr 6th, 2011
Texas and California - the country's two largest economies and most substantial economic foes - may be similar in a somewhat unexpected way: tax procrastination.According to TurboTax's annual list of the nation's most tax procrastinating citi...
Posted: Apr 4th, 2011
Tax collection in the state of Texas, as well as the nation as a whole, fell during the 2010 fiscal year, according to a report released last week by the U.S. Census Bureau, providing a glimpse into one of the key reasons for ongoing states' and fede...
Posted: Mar 29th, 2011
Amid stressful economic conditions, vexing state budget deficits and continued troubles facing small business owners, the debate over how - and if - online retail companies should pay sales tax is mounting.Texas, New York, California and Illinois are amo...
Posted: Mar 28th, 2011
Small businesses considering a move to incorporate in Texas have likely been encouraged by the state's relatively strong emergence from the recession, and for those currently located in Washington or California, they may be intrigued by Governor Rick...
Posted: Mar 25th, 2011
After months of hesitation, Texas Governor Rick Perry agreed with state lawmakers last week to tap the Texas' Rainy Day Fund in order to meet the current year's deficit of some $4 billion. While the measure essentially extends the budget until th...
Posted: Mar 23rd, 2011
According to a report that may vindicate free enterprise advocates who have been critical of the state's high tax and bloated regulatory environment, a large majority of companies in California believe their state is a more difficult place to do busi...
Posted: Mar 22nd, 2011
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a key piece of legislation, repealing a much-debated stipulation in last year's healthcare reform bill.The so-called "1099 provision" was included in the bill as a means of paying for its ...
Posted: Mar 7th, 2011
Speaking to a crowd of small business owners Tuesday, Texas Governor Rick Perry called upon his state to extend a tax credit for businesses earning less than $1 million in revenue per year, adding that the rest of the nation needs to join Texas in cuttin...
Posted: Mar 1st, 2011
Perhaps reflecting the divergent economic philosophies of the country's three largest state economies, residents of Texas were ranked among the least tax-burdened, according to a new study by the nonprofit Tax Foundation, while New York and Californi...
Posted: Feb 24th, 2011
Entrepreneurs looking to incorporate in California may be encouraged by a Citibank study released this week, which found 54 percent of the state's small business owners believe 2011 will be better than last year, while 36 percent believe the economy ...
Posted: Feb 17th, 2011
In a move designed to spur private investment and job creation, Texas Governor Rick Perry announced Wednesday his aim to extend a number of small business tax cuts that were introduced in the last legislative session."The real drivers of job creatio...
Posted: Feb 16th, 2011
The state of Texas generated $1.8 billion in sales tax collection last month, marking a 10.4 percent jump over the same period last year, according to a report released Wednesday by state comptroller Susan Combs."Sales tax revenues have now improved...
Posted: Feb 10th, 2011
The U.S. Senate voted 81-17 to repeal a controversial provision in last year's healthcare reform bill after several appeals from small business advocacy groups. It will face a vote in the House next week, where it is expected to pass.The disputed &qu...
Posted: Feb 3rd, 2011
In a sign of the divergent economic philosophies that govern the country's two largest economies - California and Texas - each state is embracing different methods to tackle their massive budget shortfalls.California legislators introduced a bill las...
Posted: Feb 1st, 2011
Congressional Republicans and Democrats are targeting a tax stipulation in last year's healthcare reform bill this week, as three Senate Democrats signed a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, requesting the House to repeal the contested 1099 provis...
Posted: Jan 21st, 2011
Topping an ongoing debate regarding state sales tax collection on internet-based transactions, the Austin American Statesman is reporting that Amazon.com is suing the state of Texas over a $269 million bill issued to the online retail giant.Texas issued ...
Posted: Jan 20th, 2011
A day after Texas Governor Rick Perry was sworn into his third full term in office, state lawmakers have been handed a biennium budget proposal that suggests $31 billion in spending cuts.The cutback is in response to a massive budget shortfall that could...
Posted: Jan 19th, 2011
While the Texas legislature convenes to address the state's budget crisis, lawmakers are considering spending cuts across all sectors in order to balance what could be a $15 billion shortfall.However, Governor Rick Perry has made...
Posted: Jan 14th, 2011
While the Texas legislature convenes to address the state's budget crisis, lawmakers are considering spending cuts across all sectors in order to balance what could be a $15 billion shortfall.However, Governor Rick Perry has made it clear that he wil...
Posted: Jan 14th, 2011
Texas' sales tax collection grew for the ninth consecutive month in December, reaching $1.8 billion and marking a 9.4 percent increase over the previous year.As the state struggles to tackle its $15 billion budget shortfall, the improvement is seen as we...
Posted: Jan 13th, 2011
A 2009 small business tax credit program in California may serve as a test sample for similar nationwide programs. The program, launched in 2009, set up a $400 million tax credit for small businesses as an incentive to hire and, ultimately, red...
Posted: Jan 13th, 2011
Texas' sales tax collection grew for the ninth consecutive month in December, reaching $1.8 billion and marking a 9.4 percent increase over the previous year.As the state struggles to tackle its $15 billion budget shortfall, the improvement is seen a...
Posted: Jan 13th, 2011
A 2009 small business tax credit program in California may serve as a test sample for similar nationwide programs. The program, launched in 2009, set up a $400 million tax credit for small businesses as an incentive to hire and, ultimately, reduce the st...
Posted: Jan 13th, 2011
While a report released this week places Texas' budget shortfall at a much lower rate than many analysts had worried, the state still faces a number of challenges regarding its tax structure and revenue streams, especially considering its constitutional ...
Posted: Jan 12th, 2011
While a report released this week places Texas' budget shortfall at a much lower rate than many analysts had worried, the state still faces a number of challenges regarding its tax structure and revenue streams, especially considering its constitutio...
Posted: Jan 12th, 2011
While Texas faces a budget shortfall reaching upwards of $25 billion, the state is looking for any new sources of revenue to compensate for the massive shortage.Currently, the state receives the vast majority of its revenue from sales tax, but as small b...
Posted: Jan 11th, 2011
While California struggles with a massive $28 billion deficit, it is also trying to stem the tide of businesses leaving the Golden State in search of less stringent regulatory climates.The nation's second largest state economy, Texas, has been a popu...
Posted: Jan 10th, 2011
Amid the backdrop of the state's massive budget crisis, a number of Texas small businesses met in San Antonio Thursday to list their grievances to the National Federation of Independent Business, reports San Antonio Express News.Among chief concerns ...
Posted: Jan 7th, 2011
Last minute taxpayers may find relief in a three-day extension on this year's tax deadline, moving the date from April 15 to April 18, the Franchise Tax Board announced Monday.The extension is due to the coincidence that the tax-filing deadline falls...
Posted: Jan 7th, 2011
Entrepreneurs looking to incorporate in New York City are likely taking comfort in the Big Apple's relatively strong emergence from the national economic recession. The city's unemployment rate has been steadily falling in recent months, while th...
Posted: Jan 6th, 2011
The country's two largest economies - California and Texas - are ironically its most ideologically contradictory. While California maintains a highly regulated and socially-invested policy, Texas touts a system of low taxes and limited government int...
Posted: Jan 5th, 2011
With the start of the new year and the inauguration of a number of newly elected state governors, the U.S. Southwest may shape up to be the country's hub for renewable energy ventures.The recently elected governors of California and Arizona have both...
Posted: Jan 4th, 2011
More small businesses are purchasing health coverage for their employees in recent months, likely stemming from a tax credit stipulated in the healthcare reform bill passed earlier this year.For entrepreneurs looking to incorporate in California, the sur...
Posted: Dec 27th, 2010
A number of recent surveys evaluating American cities' business and intellectual viability show a regional trend in regards to conditions such as the cost of doing business, brainpower and, most recently, MarketWatch's "Best Cities for Busin...
Posted: Dec 20th, 2010
Following Thursday night's passage of President Barack Obama's tax credit plan, some small businesses are asserting that it is not tax credits that they need, so much as a boost in demand.The bill, which passed swiftly through the Senate on Wedne...
Posted: Dec 17th, 2010
In a move that has deepened the intense economic rivalry between the nation's two largest economies - Texas and California - the office of Texas Governor Rick Perry recently released hundreds of letters to California businesses, imploring them to mov...
Posted: Dec 14th, 2010
Exemplifying the vastly different economic philosophies of the three states, Texas far outranked rivals New York and California in the most recent Small Business Survival Index by the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.The Lone Star State took...
Posted: Dec 10th, 2010
Many small businesses looking to incorporate in Texas may face a slight hike in the state's unemployment benefits tax next year.In 2011, approximately two-thirds of businesses in the Lone Star State will be expected to pay $70 per employee, a jump fr...
Posted: Dec 9th, 2010
Angel investors in the Lone Star state are receiving a number of incentives to invest in startups and small businesses before the year's end. The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act, passed in September, included a provision declaring that investments...
Posted: Nov 19th, 2010
Texas legislators and budget experts are receiving a breath of fresh air with Wednesday's announcement from state comptroller Susan Combs claiming sales tax revenue jumped 6.6 percent in October.The $1.6 billion income marks the seventh consecutive m...
Posted: Nov 18th, 2010
Following reports warning that Texas state agencies may be forced to make up to $1.8 billion in additional budget cuts, House Speaker Joe Straus declared Tuesday that taxes need not be raised in order to compensate for the state's budget shortfall th...
Posted: Nov 17th, 2010
In the excitement of running a startup venture, entrepreneurs can get caught up with the more rewarding aspects of the business and end up forgetting about the less glorious but equally important elements such as tax planning.Many business owners, for ex...
Posted: Nov 8th, 2010
Yesterday's defeat of Proposition 23 in California has come as a sigh of relief to many small businesses and entrepreneurs looking to launch a green tech LLC in California. Consequently, the state's restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions as put...
Posted: Nov 3rd, 2010
Solar energy entrepreneurs and small business owners looking to launch an LLC in Texas may have something to look forward to with next week's Texas Renewables 2010 conference. To be held November 7 - 10 in San Antonio, the conference will seek to att...
Posted: Nov 3rd, 2010
Following Tuesday's election of Andrew Cuomo as governor of the state of New York, the Business Council of New York State released a statement congratulating the former state attorney general, while also urging a budget policy that favors private sec...
Posted: Nov 3rd, 2010
Site Selection magazine has released its annual ranking of the top state business climates, placing New York down at No. 21 in a tie with Mississippi. North Carolina took the top spot, followed by Tennessee and Texas, respectively.The rankings factored w...
Posted: Nov 2nd, 2010
California's greenhouse gas emissions cap-and-trade program, which is expected to go into effect in 2012, was unveiled in a final draft form last week, provoking mixed reactions from state businesses.Supporters of the measure, which is a part of the ...
Posted: Nov 1st, 2010
California has received a lot of attention in recent weeks as the state's voter Propositions include several landmark bills that could drastically alter the business landscape of the Golden State. Of crucial importance to businesses, particularly ren...
Posted: Oct 29th, 2010
In an effort to secure his legacy as an advocate of green technology, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been pulling out all the stops to campaign against Proposition 23 - a bill that will repeal the governor's renewable energy law that r...
Posted: Oct 28th, 2010
Tax delinquent businesses that have incorporated in Texas may face trouble from auditors and collectors beginning next year. The Texas Comptroller's office announced today that it will cooperate with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to suspend...
Posted: Oct 26th, 2010
Small Business Majority, a nonprofit organization that aims to promote small business interests and growth released a report this week claiming that California's existing AB 32 law will continue to spur entrepreneurial investment and small business g...
Posted: Oct 20th, 2010
Entrepreneurs looking to launch a green tech LLC in California are in the right place. The state leads not only the U.S. but the world in alternative energy startups and entrepreneurial ventures. However, a number of initiatives and competitions are begi...
Posted: Oct 8th, 2010
Entrepreneurs looking to launch an LLC in California might want to consider a new survey by the Rose Institute of State and Local Government that assesses the costs of doing business in more than 400 U.S. cities. According to the report, one-third o...
Posted: Oct 4th, 2010
Many companies and recently launched LLCs in California are fighting the state's proposed Proposition 24 bill, which, if passed, will repeal several laws that have proved beneficial to the state’s businesses.The laws, to be voted on in state el...
Posted: Oct 1st, 2010
Manhattan entrepreneurs trying to reduce their tax burden might consider filing articles of incorporation in New York state as an S corporation, or incorporate in Texas to benefit from lower tax rates.An S corporation allows corporate profit to pass thro...
Posted: Aug 24th, 2010