POST CATEGORY : Legal

Smart Tax Strategies for Audit-Proofing Your Small Business

Going through an audit can be nerve-wracking and time-consuming. Most business owners would rather pull their own teeth out than deal with the IRS. Here’s how to survive the ordeal and avoid future audits in the future.

Small business tax woes

Outsource Your Accounting and Tax Work

If you want to avoid a lot of trouble with the IRS, pay someone else to deal with them for you. Outsourcing your tax and accounting work is one of the best moves a small business can make. Too many businesses mistakenly believe that they must do everything themselves.

In some ways, their entrepreneurial spirit “forces” them to “take on the world.”…

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USA Mobile Drug Testing Shares what Employers Need to Know About Marijuana Legalization

With approximately 20 states and the District of Columbia legalizing the use of medical marijuana, drug testing has become a particularly hot topic for employers. Many of them are confused about what legalization means and what impact it has on them. That may be especially true in Washington, Colorado and as yet to be determined states where recreational marijuana use is now legal or may be legalized in the future.

Marijuana legalization issue in the workplace

Rich DeMatteo recently interviewed David Bell from USA Mobile Drug Testing, explaining it from an employee perspective, so we thought it would be a good idea to cover it from an employer’s perspective.…

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Licensing and Permissions for Planning a Public Event

If you are planning on running a public event, there are a number of procedures that you will need to go through, including obtaining permission or a specific licence from the relevant authority in your area.

Crowd at a public event

It is not uncommon to actually need more than one type of licence for an event and this could involve things like obtaining an alcohol licence or getting consent to erect a temporary structure like a Smart Space building that you are using to host the planned event.

Here is a look at what is involved in planning a public event that is fully compliant with all the relevant rules and regulations that are likely to apply.…

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Legal Considerations for Your Family-Owned Business

According to CPApowered.org, as much as 70% of family-owned businesses will not survive a transition to the next generation (SOURCE IN MINUTE ONE OF VIDEO). Considering that small and mid-sized businesses are the backbone of the American economy, that number is quite staggering. If you are planning on getting into business, you already have a lot on your plate. Thinking about the future may not be on your mind but it should be.

Father and son in a family business

Not every business owner has to be a lawyer, but you are expected to have a basic understanding of laws and how they may affect your business.…

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3 Things You Need to Know About Online Defamation

When considering the modern landscape of communication and news-gathering, we can all agree that the use of blogs and social networking outlets are increasing in their popularity and usefulness. Unfortunately, this incredible rise in use and visibility also increases the risks of online defamation.

Online defamation and gossip

Defamation occurs when someone online writes something that falsely and negatively affects another person’s reputation and/or business. It’s vital to consider that anyone can immediately publish anything they desire to the web, whether it be factual or needlessly inflammatory. Therefore the role of defamation law is quickly becoming more significant.

Let’s briefly consider three important points about online defamation:

What are the specifics of defamation?

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Get Ready to Show Proof of Health Coverage in 2015

By now, you should know the law: As of last year, all Americans – both individuals and businesses – are required to carry health insurance coverage under the terms of the Affordable Health Care Act of 2010. If you don’t have at least the minimum amount of health coverage, you could face penalties on your 2014 tax bill.

Proof of insurance coverage

Because this is the first year that taxpayers have to provide proof of health coverage, many people are confused about what they actually have to do. The good news is that for most people, the process is actually quite simple, and only requires checking off a box on their tax return indicating that they have coverage.…

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Renting a Business Property: Know Your Rights And Responsibilities

If you run a successful business from home, you may be considering a move into dedicated business premises, but buying a property is sometimes too big a step at this stage. Taking a business tenancy is more flexible and less of a commitment than buying, but it comes with responsibilities as well.

To Let property

The draft lease

When you’ve found a suitable place, the landlord, or probably their solicitor, will present you with a long and wordy document, the draft business lease. At this stage you may want to consult lawyers of your own, because the language of the lease isn’t always easy to comprhend.…

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Advantages of an LLC over an S Corp for a Family Business

When starting a business it is important to determine what type of legal entity the company is going to take. Many businesses are started by one individual which makes them a sole proprietor when they are starting.

As businesses grow they often get changed into a partnership or a corporation. If the owner decides that they want a corporation, there are two types that are more common than others, the limited liability corporation and the S Corp. The LLC has a lot of advantages over the S Corp.

LLC benefits

Advantages of an LLC

There are four main advantages of an LLC.…

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5 Good Reasons for Selling your Structured Payment

Many people looking to sell their settlements do it for a variety of reasons. The decisions are often dependent on the situation of life at that point in time. However, as you make a decision to sell it is important to make sure that the money is spent on something that will add value to you and your family. Therefore, the 5 good reasons for selling your structured settlement are as follows:

Selling structured settlements

  1. Buying a home or trying to avoid a foreclosure
  2. Engaging in a major home repair like buying a new roof
  3. Opening a well-researched new business or adding more funds to an already flourishing business
  4. Going back to college or paying for your child’s education
  5. Paying an expensive medical bill.
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Commercial Finance Brokers: Understanding Risk Management

Trade finance brokers are laden with a huge amount of responsibility when it comes to choosing the correct avenue of financing for their customers. Every morsel of advice given to customers could either lead to a road of success or come back to bite you. So the importance of risk management is pretty substantial in any case.

Risk management tips

If you are the CEO of a commercial finance company, not only does the ability to identify risks help you protect your customer’s assets, but it will also protect your business from ugly legal upshots. Trade finance risk management is all about covering your team, as well as giving your customer the best possible chance to survive or grow within their industry / market.…

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