many small entrepreneurs or small business owners have been disappointed when their applications for small business loans were disapproved by banks under the Small Business Administration’s program for America’s Recovery Capital. According to an article written by Robb Mandelbaum in the August 12, 2009 edition of The New York Times Online, the program is off to a slow start. It seems that most banks are reluctant to approve applications for small business loans.
Mandelbaum reports that the Small Business Administration’s program has $255 million to give away, enough to give small businesses 10,000 loans reaching as much as $35,000 each. However, two months after the program was launched, there have only been 1,127 small business loans released, with a total of $36.8 million.
Sources are saying that banks are not very keen on participating in the Small Business Administration’s program because giving the small business loans would not be very profitable for them. Paul Merski,.chief economist of the trade association Independent Community Bankers of America, said, There’s not a lot of profit motive in a $35,000 loan stretched over six years. Bob Seiwert from the Center for Commercial Lending and Business Banking at the American Bankers Association reveals that, because of strict underwriting standards, servicing the small business loans becomes even more expensive.
The banks have also found more ways to restrict the approval of small business loans with the Congressional restrictions on loan eligibility. According to Congress, in order to qualify for the Small Business Administration loans, small businesses need to be both struggling and viable. That means the business should have had an immediate financial hardship such as a 20 percent decrease in revenue. However, the business must also be at least two years old with proof of positive cash flow in one of the previous two years. It should also submit a two year cash-flow projection proving that it will be able to afford loan payments. [Continue Reading...]
For small to medium sized businesses, a hardware firewall router is an excellent solution for keeping your computer network safe and secure. Business owners and network IT administrators agree that the implementation of a hardware firewall router in their networks will save time, money, and (most importantly) it will save you from the hassle of dealing with the fallout from a hacker’s intrusion or a virus’ damage.
Operating on multiple levels simultaneously, hardware firewall routers utilize firewall, UTM, wireless and VPN technologies integrated to provide you with the ultimate in security. A hardware firewall is a physical component, just like your computer towers, monitors and keyboards. Its primary function is to act as a filter between the outside internet and your business network, but it does so much more.
The ultimate threat management component comprises of anti-virus, anti-spyware, content filtering and intrusion prevention, all controlled from one point. Readily protecting thousands of computers, as opposed to a software program which can only protect the computer it is installed upon, is one of the reasons why hardware firewall routers are so cost effective. [Continue Reading...]
It’s no secret that the Internal Revenue Service is making a huge effort to collect every last cent of unpaid employment taxes or unpaid payroll taxes the government is owed. In that spirit, the IRS is cracking down on small businesses with unpaid payroll taxes and past due employment taxes, which until recently have largely flown under the radar. Any company with unpaid employment taxes or delinquent payroll taxes has committed a federal crime and can expect devastating results. If you have unpaid employment taxes or unpaid payroll taxes and are in need of business tax relief, here is what you need to do.
Understand the gravity of your situation.
The IRS views unpaid payroll taxes and unpaid employment taxes as theft, and they carry severe consequences. Aside from penalties (33% plus interest at 16 days past the day you should have filed the 941 – payroll tax return) and prison time, the IRS can padlock your business’s doors without a court order, seize your equipment and contact your customers to intercept any future payments owed to you.
The IRS doesn’t care whether you stay in business or not just as long as all unpaid employment taxes or past due payroll taxes owed are accounted for. You need business tax relief and negotiating a properly structured payment plan or IRS installment plan can help you manage your cash flow and cut new penalties in half.
Unpaid employment taxes unpaid payroll taxes tip
Get professional advice NOW. Even more than a personal audit, an unpaid payroll tax or delinquent employment tax investigation has the power to destroy you and the people who work for you. The IRS has subjective thresholds it uses to determine who was culpable in failing to file and/or pay unpaid employment taxes or unpaid payroll taxes. They can assess the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) and go after anyone and everyone including company owners, officers, shareholders, CPAs, accountants, EAs and bookkeepers. [Continue Reading...]