E-Mail Newsletter

Issue #83 - October 30, 2008

Ask Alice About Credit Default Swaps and the Credit Crunch
Dear Alice,
My boss just stopped by my desk to borrow some Excedrin and he was muttering something about how we’ll all be ruined by credit default swaps. Should I be doing something to prepare for this like getting vaccinated or building an underground shelter? What are these dreaded credit default swaps anyway?
Swap Shy in Sacramento

Ask Alice About Social Security Taxes for 2009
Dear Alice,
What's this I just heard about my Social Security taxes going up yet again in 2009?
Noend Insight

Ask Alice Your Own Question
Have a business-related question? Submit your question by email. Alice responds to all inquires and shares the best submissions with others at Business Owner's Toolkit.

TOOLKIT MEMBERSHIP PAYS OFF
The latest winner of Toolkit's monthly Dell laptop computer giveaway has been selected. Learn more about our winner here.

BUSINESS OWNER'S TOOLKIT RADIO--ON THE AIR AND ONLINE
Business Owner's Toolkit Radio Show is a fast-paced, entertaining, one-hour call-in program that provides advice and inspiration to small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. Broadcast on more than 68 radio stations nationally, the show is also available at www.toolkit.com, to listen live or to review the show's archives. Our new audio player makes it very easy.

We encourage Toolkit members to submit a question to the radio show via email or telephone call. In addition, you also can submit your "elevator pitch"--a one-minute proposal for investment dollars to support your new business idea. If your questions or pitches sound promising, you could be featured on the next Business Owner's Toolkit Radio Show.

For more information on the show and how to participate, check out our Toolkit Radio Show homepage.

Business Owner's Toolkit Tip of the Month
 

TIME-OFF-TO-VOTE LAWS: A STATE-BY-STATE SUMMARY

With a spirited presidential campaign and registration drives sparking voter interest, the question of just how the right to vote squares with the right of an employer to expect attendance on the job is likely to be raised in many workplaces.

According to the laws on the books, voting is more than a personal civic duty. In more than half of states, voting takes legal precedence over work, and employers must allow employees time off to cast their ballots.

Employers in many states risk fines or even jail sentences for interfering with an employee’s right to exercise the franchise. In other states, however, the law offers no special protection or incentive for someone who takes time out of the workday to vote. For more information on this situation, check out our map of state time-off-to-vote laws.

Quick Hits: Recent News & Timely Information
 

CONGRESS PASSES TAX EXTENDERS AS PART OF BAILOUT BILL

In an effort to increase support for its economic rescue plan, congressional leaders inserted a number of year-end tax measures that Congress was scheduled to address. While much of the attention has been on the measures intended to address the subprime mortgage crisis at the root of Wall Street's instability, here are some of the income and business tax issues also in the new law.

CONGRESS CLEARS BILL FUNDING E-VERIFY

Congress cleared a bill that would continue to fund the E-Verify program, which allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. The program is used to check new employee Social Security numbers against the federal government's database, to see if the person can legally work in the United States. False numbers, or numbers belonging to someone else, are rejected, requiring the employer to seek further verification to work or to dismiss the employee.

People Who Work for You

RETIREMENT PLAN REFORMS SUGGESTED IN WAKE OF FINANCIAL CRISIS

Government Compliance

EMPLOYERS MAY BE REQUIRED TO LIST INSURANCE COSTS ON EMPLOYEE W-2 FORMS

Controlling Your Taxes

BUSINESSES MISS OUT ON TELEPHONE EXCISE TAX REFUNDS; STILL TIME TO FILE AMENDED RETURNS

Office & Equipment

MANUFACTURERS FACE CONFUSING ARRAY OF NEW REGULATIONS, PROCEDURES

BUSINESS OWNER'S TOOLKIT WEBINARS

Business Owner's Toolkit offers a series of free webinars on subjects of interest for small business owners. Now you can schedule education on your own time!

Topics range from accounting to web-based marketing, and host of subjects in between. Toolkit staffers compile this information from their vast databases of small business information, and offer them at no charge to members of Business Owner's Toolkit. These self-guided webinars play at your pace on your computer, anytime you are ready.

Check out Business Owner's Toolkit Webinar homepage to find out how to take advantage of this unique educational opportunity.

This free feature joins the Business Owner's Toolkit Radio Show and Business Card Exchange in the lineup of special Toolkit offerings for registered members. Check out Business Owner's Toolkit for more exciting developments to come.

TOOLKIT THANKS SURVEY PARTICIPANTS

Business Owner's Toolkit wants to offer its thanks and appreciation to all the members who participated in our recent survey. The response was very stong, and we are still compiling your answers and crunching the numbers. The five minutes each member spent on the survey will go a long way toward improving Toolkit in the future.

For those who didn't get a chance, we'll do another one sometime in 2009, so keep an eye on your email inbox. Until then, sign up for our newsletter, because we only contact members who give us permission to do so. Your privacy is our priority.