(Wall Street Journal Tax Report, A Special Summary and Forecast of Federal and State Tax Developments, April 12, 2000, pg. A1)
Small-business lobbyists argue that the law, enacted in December, unfairly makes it tougher for owners to sell part or all of a business on the installment plan. Under that law, taxes on proceeds from a sale must, in many cases, be paid all at once, rather than spread out over several years as installment payments are made. The law applies to businesses using «accrual» accounting.
The House already has voted to repeal the 1999 law. The Treasury proposed «guidance» that generally would allow qualified businesses with less than $1 million of average annual gross receipts to use cash accounting and thus avoid the problem. But at a congressional hearing recently, Pam Olson, who will take over this summer as head of the American Bar Association tax section, argued strongly for total repeal.
The Treasury plan «will not eliminate the chilling effect» of the 1999 law since that law will «remain in effect for a large number of taxpayers,» Ms. Olson said.
(Crain’s New York Business – April 10, 2000, pg. 14)
Both houses in Albany are moving to help small businesses that provide health insurance to their employees. The Health Care Reform Act passed in December offers subsidies to encourage small companies to begin offering insurance, but it gives no help to small businesses that already provide coverage.
To help these firms, Senate Insurance Committee Chairman James Seward, R-Otswego, is proposing a bill that would offer tax credits worth 20% of the cost of the insurance to small firms that already offer coverage.
Meanwhile, Assemblyman Joe Morelle, D-Rochester, chairman of the Assembly Small Business Committee, has introduced a bill that would make HCRA incentives available to businesses that currently provide health insurance as well as firms just starting to offer it.
(Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, October 26, 1999 — Enterprise, B2.)
(Wall Street Journal, Thursday, October 28, 1999 – Business Bulletin)
Economists who studied businesses started by blacks and Hispanics in two Chicago neighborhoods found that black-owned enterprises got going with only half as much capital as the Hispanic-run firms, says Paul Huck, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and one of the authors. The Chicago Fed and two other institutions surveyed 148 small businesses run by blacks in Chatham and 183 Hispanic-owned enterprises in Little Village.
Black and Hispanic start-ups had similar capitalization – a median of about $12,600. But after considering differences in business type, human capital and other demographics, the study concludes that black business owners started out with half as much funding as Hispanics with comparable business profiles. But Mr. Huck cautions that the small, neighborhood samples aren’t indicative of national traits. He adds further studies are needed to examine ethnic differences in business startups and growth.