MarketWatch:

The IRS’s online filing system is up and running on time. No last-minute bits of legislation to change the whole playing field. What’s the big news this year? Lots of free advice and better question paths in all services.

About 145 million tax returns were filed last year. The IRS estimates that over 70% of taxpayers are eligible to file for free using the Free File Alliance program or the Free File Fillable Form system.

With that system, skilled computer adepts can avoid commercial tax firms. This no-frills system doesn’t integrate with any state filing systems. It’s useful for folks who are either in a state without a state income tax, or a state with an online tax-return system.

Meanwhile, under the Free File Alliance program, 15 companies offer free federal tax returns to taxpayers with income under $57,000. Each provider has different age and form restrictions and other conditions. Most service all states. But some don’t. For instance, ezTaxReturn.com says it covers “any state, except…” — then lists 30 states it doesn’t service. Read more.

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Michigan Business Review – MLive.com:

It’s always hunting season for the next great idea.

The Edsel and the smartphone have vastly opposite records of success, but they both came from the same source: an idea.

In their book “The Idea Hunter,” Andy Boynton and Bill Fischer observe that the key ingredient for discovering great ideas comes less from genius or off-the-charts creativity and more from persistent searching and observing what is happening around them.

Entrepreneurs and other leaders in Southwest Michigan are no strangers to the search for great ideas. Some of these ideas, such as the Kalamazoo Promise, have gained national prominence. Read more.

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In the world of money, bills and spending, time waits for no man – or woman. When a due date hits, you have to pay it fast. When an opportunity to buy something at a good price comes up, you have to grab it very quickly. But the funds to do these things aren’t always there. That’s a time when a fast cash loan is what would come in handy.

There is a fast way to get a fast cash loan, fortunately. It is through a payday advance, fast cash from your next paycheque. You apply for it online and the money arrives by the next morning (Monday through Friday). This source of money brings several benefits to borrowers:

• Near-instant solution – In about 20 minutes, you can find out if your request for the paycheque advance has been successful (85 percent of applicants are). With money direct-deposited into your bank account, you can do all the things you want with the cash within 24 hours.

• Uncomplicated process – Fast cash comes in a simple way. You sign on to the lender website. You provide employment information and information about where you bank (upload a pay stub or bank account statement). That’s pretty much it.

• Your solution, your way – What a paycheque advance does is give you control over the calendar instead of the other way around. Instead of bill collectors shaking you down for cash, you decide when to pay which ones. Or, you can go where you want for a weekend instead of missing the fun because your bank account is empty.

Speed does not have to involve risk, however. When you apply for and receive a fast cash loan, online lenders will provide the security for your data, safety for your money and freedom from unauthorized inquiry through best-in-class technology. Without that, this method of borrowing could not be so popular.

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HeraldNet:

Sometimes the greater challenge for entrepreneurs isn’t landing on a winning idea; it’s finding the money to start a new business venture.

It’s been said there are three common sources for funding — family, friends and fools. In reality, personal savings and investment are the top funding sources for start-ups.

Historically, many small business owners found easy access to cash for financing their business through their home equity. In today’s economic environment, with home values significantly deflated, this may not be practical. Most homeowners who’ve purchased within the past six years have witnessed a significant drop in their equity.

Robert Wolverton, a broker with Cobalt Mortgage, has seen the best and the worst of times in his 14 years in the business. More.

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FreshBusinessThinking.com:

Online social network for homeworkers Enterprise Nation is giving £100 to 100 businesses and would-be businesses for their “good ideas”. The competition, in association with PayPal, is asking its members how they’d spend the money on their ventures, awarding £10,000 in all.

Ideas 101 in association with PayPal launches today and asks, “if we gave you £100, how would you spend it?” And the question’s not hypothetical! PayPal and Enterprise Nation are giving £100 to 100 of its members with the best business ideas. The money can be spent on anything from training, to equipment or branded t-shirts.

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PC World:

After just over a year as a coveted, invitation-only beta, Google has officially launched Google Voice as a free service for all. Google Voice adds another component to the suite of tools available from Google providing small and medium businesses with cost-effective tools enabling them to conduct business like their much larger enterprise counterparts.

Large enterprises have the budget to invest in a robust networking, communication, and productivity infrastructure. Enterprise businesses also have the personnel resources to dedicate the expertise necessary to implement, maintain, and administer the tools. Small and medium businesses? Not so much.

Unfortunately for the small and medium businesses (SMB), though, they still have the same needs and similar business processes. They still need to communicate and collaborate in real-time with peers, partners, and customers.

Fortunately for SMBs, Google provides a diverse portfolio of tools that are free, or at least reasonably cost-effective, which allow them to appear much larger than they are, and compete on a level playing field with much larger competitors.

Read more.

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Despite that fact that it is 2010 and today’s marketplace being technologically driven, you might be surprised at how just many small-businesses still don’t accept credit card payments. If your small business doesn’t currently take credit/debit cards than you are really missing out on a sizable revenue stream. Due to the many benefits credit cards offer- convenience, security, increase of purchasing power, etc, many of today’s shoppers prefer to use credit cards when paying for items bought online or in-person.

In order to start conduct credit card processing, your business needs to first be set up with a merchant account. Merchant accounts make it possible for small businesses to accept payments made to them via credit and debit cards.
It is important that you have the necessary information lined up before applying for a merchant account as to prevent any possible delays. When applying, lenders typically require that applicants have a running website, voided check, active checking account, and proof of ownership. If you operate within in a high-risk or specialized industry, than additional items like photos, trade references, and recent tax returns may also be requested.

Merchant accounts are available either directly through a vendor or through a third party agent that is partnered with the vendor. Credit card transactions can be processed and verified via electronic authorization in three ways:

• After swipage, the credit cards magnetic strip is verified by the credit card terminal

• The customer’s information is already registered in the credit card terminal and/or website

• A readable computer chip inside of the credit card is processed

For more information on merchant accounts, check out credit-card-processing-review.toptenreviews.com, nabancard.com and Wikipedia as I found all of them to be pretty helpful.

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BBC News:

One of the big issues for ambitious small firms looking to grow is how to attract new customers.

You know you have a great product, or offer a good service, but how do you best make yourself known to would-be buyers?

Here Ganesh Selvarajah, an advisor at Business Link, the government-funded business support service, looks at how to best target your advertising or marketing spend.

Question
Matthew asks: “We are a small road-marking company based in East Anglia.

Our company has been running for approximately two years, purely from word of mouth and recommendations.

We are now looking to increase our revenue and would like some pointers as to the best advertising investments.

We already have a website and are listed on most directory sites, but realise it is an unusual area to market. Thanks in advance for any ideas or advice you can offer.”

Answer
“As the road-marking industry is a very niche market, all your advertising and marketing would need to be targeted at the correct audience to maximise your spend,” says Ganesh Selvarajah of Business Link.

Continue reading…

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Atlantic Online:

To stanch the flow of continued job losses (with 263,000 jobs lost in September, up from 201,000 in August), the White House is weighing new options. Among them are more stimulus-style projects as well as traditionally conservative approaches such as tax cuts for small businesses. As Obama’s economic team pursues new strategies for America’s catastrophic unemployment, economists of all stripes are offering suggestions. Dire times have pushed some pundits to cross party lines looking for solutions. Below, five ideas for tackling unemployment and two warnings about what not to do.

* 1. Send Money to States – The Wall Street Journal’s Gerald Seib notes that states are more vulnerable since many are required to balance their budgets and are also better at pushing out jobs than the federal government. “Getting additional help to states in coming months might well be both the most efficient and the most politically feasible action Washington could take to avoid sinking deeper into the jobs hole,” he writes. “Getting money out to states quickly may have been the single most effective impact of the February stimulus package. That money — which went for construction projects, education and health-care programs — helped financially strapped states avoid even bigger disasters as they put together budgets for the current fiscal year.”

* …But States Must Court Businesses – Jennifer Rubin examines Michigan, a state that has spent and worked extravagantly to promote jobs without success. “For starters, it is one of the more heavily unionized states around. The UAW did its number on the car industry, and any employer coming into the state will have a similar experience with Big Labor. Given the choice between a right-to-work Sun Belt state and a Big Labor–dominated Rust Belt one, most employers will (and do) choose the former,” she writes. “Think for a moment (aside from the political impossibility of it) what would happen if the state passed a right-to-work law allowing employees to refuse to join a union. I’d imagine employers might take another look at Michigan.” Read more.

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Techdirt:

I know a fair number of patent lawyers and copyright lawyers who are quite skeptical of what’s become of patent and copyright law — and who readily admit that the law has gone way beyond what is reasonable or what the law was designed to do (i.e., “promote the progress…”). And yet there are some in the patent or copyright legal business who somehow seem to think that it’s traitorous for a patent or copyright lawyer to ever dare question the idea that patents and copyrights work. I had a patent lawyer argue with me the other day that of course patents encourage innovation, because the Constitution says they do. This sort of logical blunder blows my mind. How can otherwise intelligent people assign such backwards logic to things? Do these same people also believe that when Congress passes any law, it automatically achieves its goals?

I have a good friend, who has recently made it through law school. Since he spent over a decade as a computer scientist, the law firm he went to work for made sure he did a rotation in the patent group (but of course).

Read on…

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FranchiseTalk:

* Check that existing business continuity contingency plans address long-term absenteeism rates. In particular, check to see if core business activities can be sustained over several weeks with only a minimal workforce available.

* Identify your company’s essential functions, which might include accounting, payroll, and information technology, and the individuals who perform them. The absence of these individuals could seriously impair business continuity. Cross-train employees to perform essential functions to ensure resiliency.

* Plan for interruptions of essential government services like sanitation, water, power, and transportation, or disruptions to the food supply. For example, employees may need back-up plans for car pools in case mass transit is interrupted.

* Determine which outside activities are critical to maintain operations and develop alternatives in case they cannot function normally. For example, what transportation systems are needed to provide essential materials? Does the business operate on ‘just in time’ inventory or is there typically some in reserve?

* Update sick leave and family and medical leave policies and communicate with employees about the importance of staying away from the workplace if they become ill.

* Establish or expand policies and tools that enable employees to work from home with appropriate security and network access to applications.

* Collaborate with insurers, health plans, and major healthcare facilities to share your pandemic contingency plans and to learn about their capabilities and plans.

* Maintain a healthy work environment. Ensure adequate air circulation. Post tips on how to stop the spread of germs at work. Promote hand and respiratory hygiene. Ensure wide and easy availability of alcohol-based hand sanitizer products.

Tell your employees about the threat of pandemic flu and the steps the company is taking to prepare for it. Establish an emergency communications plan and revise periodically. The plan should include key contacts (with back-ups), a chain of communications (including suppliers and customers), and the processes for communicating pandemic status and actions to employees, vendors, suppliers, and customers inside and outside the worksite in a consistent and timely way.

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Entrepreneur.com:

Everything is cheaper
Let’s face it: There is great value right now in this and in world markets. This is the right time for fantastic deals in virtually every category, from land and equipment to commercial office space, personnel and labor.

As asset prices have been knocked down, there is no better time to get into the real estate or financial markets, or even heavy equipment and construction. Some people have waited years to find value in these markets–and now that time has come.

You can hire more and better-qualified people
In an era when even Microsoft is laying off, you can find great resources at affordable rates. Thinking about getting your high-tech startup off the ground? There are plenty of engineers waiting to be hired.

Thinking about forming a professional services firm? There are many accountants and attorneys looking for their next opportunity.

People are looking to change suppliers
From a cost perspective, everything is on the table for most companies. Even if your prices are higher, if you can come in with greater value, you have a good chance at winning new business. You also have the advantage of being the new kid on the block when it comes to pitching your products and services. Many companies are desperate to find new partnerships with new companies that have a different, better or more innovative way of delivering those products and services.

Ownership equals tax incentives
Business ownership offers a variety of tax benefits that aren’t available to employees. While taxes should never be the sole reason to go into business for yourself, it should be one reason to add to you “benefits of business ownership” list.

Family and friends don’t want to (or can’t) invest more money into the stock or real estate markets
That means they may be willing to finance a portion of your new venture, or the expansion of an enterprise that has proven itself over time. The main benefit is that they know you and have a relationship with you–and if you have a solid business plan that delivers real numbers, your chances of raising the capital you need increase exponentially.

More reasons here.

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Americans for Tax Reform:

On Monday, the Obama Administration announced a series of government-focused solutions for America’s small business sector. Unfortunately, none of them involve long-term ideas to incentivize small businesses to be created or hire more employees.

Below are ten ideas President Obama could get started on right away to help America’s struggling small business sector…

1. Remove the looming tax hike on most small business profits. Since small businesses pay their income taxes on their owners’ tax returns, increasing personal income tax rates is a tax hike on small business profits. In fact, at least $2 out of every $3 in small business profits is earned in households making at least $200,000 per year. So the Pelosi-Reid-Obama plan to raise the top two tax rates is a direct tax hike on the lion’s share of small business profits. It’s like a Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of small business owners

2. Cut the top marginal tax rate. Since most small business profits are taxed in the top two brackets, these tax brackets should be cut, not raised. A good principal should be that nobody should have to pay more than 25% of their income in taxes. Any rates higher than this should be cut down to 25%. This would be an immediate cut for small businesses, and would remove the current rate structure’s bias against future small business profits. Firms with fewer than 100 employees account for over one-third of employment in America. Cutting this tax rate will put more people to work

3. Cut the self-employment tax rate. Small businesses organized as sole proprietorships or general partnerships must pay two layers of tax—the income tax, and a “self-employment tax” (which is equivalent to the employer plus the employee “shares” of the FICA tax). As a result of the interaction of these two parallel tax structures, growing small businesses often face higher marginal income tax rates than established small businesses. This is unfair, and imposes ridiculously-high marginal tax rates on modest business profits. The self-employment tax should be cut in half to a flat rate of 7.65% (1.45% after the Social Security wage base is exceeded), the same rate faced by the employee’s “share” of FICA

4. Allow full business expensing. Small businesses are already allowed to expense business purchases today, but only up to $250,000 in assets purchased (there are also other limitations). Any asset purchases not eligible for expensing must be slowly-deducted, or depreciated, over many years. For small business owners, a tax cut delayed is a tax cut denied. The cap on small business expensing should be lifted, and all other limitations removed. This will incentivize small businesses to invest more in growing their firms

5. Uncap small business contributions to retirement plans. It’s no secret that America is facing a retirement savings crisis. The looming threat of Social Security’s bankruptcy conspires with a halved stock market and a low savings rate to foil our retirement safety. One easy solution to help turn things around would be to uncap the amount that small businesses could contribute to owner and employee retirement plans. Anything contributed should be deductible against both income and self-employment tax. There should be no contribution limits at all. Now more than ever, America needs to hyper-charge retirement savings

Read full article.

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New York Daily News:

No tax question is too tough for New York’s top accountants, and Your Money is putting them to work for you — for free.

The annual Daily News Tax Hotline is returning this week to assist filers. An all-star team of certified public accountants will be on hand tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., to take your calls and reply to your blog posts and e-mails.

To get help, call (212) 210-2044, visit nydailynews.com/money or write to tax@nydailynews.com.

The Daily News is partnering again on the Tax Hotline with the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, whose members have helped thousands of Daily News readers over the years.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for consumers to obtain free tax advice from top tax professionals,” said Sharon Sabba Fierstein, president of the society. “Our members have expertise in federal and state tax issues to respond to questions on any level.”

Your Money Editor Scott Wenger added: “In a tough economy, every legitimate deduction is crucial. Many readers don’t realize they may qualify for a refund.”

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