Small Business News

Small businesses need to plan carefully to avoid the impact of higher taxes under the new Administration. Regardless of your feelings about Obama—and I say this as a right-leaning small business owner—it's time to take notice of our smart counterparts out there who know his Presidency can translate into lots of profits. Remember, these savvy entrepreneurs know all about surviving and profiting from one political wind to the other. While the rest are watching football or Family Guy this Sunday, you can bet these folks will be plotting their strategy for later in 2009 when the Administration changes and the new Congress takes over. Here are a few shrewd moves and predictions we should all consider.

Three experts answer questions on small business income taxes, depreciation deductions, labor policy, unions, medical leaves, and small business health care reform. The election is finally over, and as the dust settles, it's time for some accounting. How will small businesses fare under an Obama administration? Smart Answers columnist Karen E. Klein asked three experts—Bill Rys, tax counsel for advocacy group National Federation of Independent Business; Jay Sumner, labor law attorney with the law firm of Littler Mendelson; and John Arensmeyer, executive director of advocacy group Small Business Majority—to comment about issues important to entrepreneurs, including taxes, labor policy, and health care. Edited excerpts of their conversations follow.

Small merchants have long chafed at the fees they must pay banks every time a customer swipes a debit or credit card. But now, with business slowing and every dollar important to their bottom line, some merchants are pushing for changes. The merchants are lobbying for legislation that would compel banks to negotiate fees with them and are supporting a second measure that its sponsors calls a "credit card bill of rights for merchants." At the same time, some merchants are seeking class-action status for litigation claiming antitrust violations by banks and the MasterCard and Visa card networks.

Free business counseling is available in central Pennsylvania through SCORE, "Counselors to America’s Small Business." This service is provided by more than 20 volunteers who have been in business and want to share their experiences. They represent a variety of business backgrounds. Some have worked for major companies such as Standard Steel, Cargill, Hershey Resorts and Alcoa. Others have owned successful small businesses locally. They counsel people who are thinking of going into business as well as those already in business who could use some help. In addition, SCORE works with the Small Business Development Center at Penn State to conduct half-day workshops regularly at no or minimal cost. A schedule can be found online at www.scorecpa.org. The site also provides the opportunity to apply for counseling.

Senator John McCain proposed on Friday that investors should be given a temporary reprieve from a rule forcing them to withdraw from their 401(k)’s and I.R.A.'s after the age of 70, so that they might be shielded from the devastating plunge of the stock market in recent weeks. The staggering decline in stocks has devastated the retirement holdings of many Americans, posing a particular threat to those nearing retirement age. Because investors over age 70 1/2 are required to begin withdrawing from their retirement accounts, they are being forced to sell their stocks at substantial losses. “We have to protect those who currently rely on their investments for retirement,” Mr. McCain said at a rally in La Crosse, Wis. “Current rules mandate that investors must begin to sell off their I.R.A.’s and 401(k)’s when they reach age 70 1/2. To spare investors from being forced to sell their stocks at just the time the market is hurting the most, those rules should be suspended.”