New Resource for Businesses - Inc. Well

Attention all entrepreneurs and business owners!

You may be interested in the new NBC Chicago’s blog – Inc. Well – a how-to blog for Chicago’s entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Aside from having great articles, resources and information for the small business owner, our very own business attorney, Arieh M. Flemenbaum,  was interviewed (again) and quoted in the blog - “Why Biz Owners Should Rethink that IPO” (click the link or go to: http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/inc-well/Why-Biz-Owners-Should-Rethink-that-IPO-121521309.html.

Arieh was also quoted in the first edition of Inc. Well for a discussion about why entrepreneurs should consider incorporating their business (to obtain  liability protections and separate their business assets from their personal ones).  See the Inc. Well blog entitled, "Why You Might Want to Incorporate Your Small Biz" (click the link or go to: http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/inc-well/Should-You-Incorporate-Your-Small-Biz-119838059.html)

For more information about incorporating and protecting your business, please visit the website of Griffith & Jacobson, LLC (click the link or go to: http://www.gjlaw.com)- Chicago's Business Lawyers.

Year-End Business Check-Up No. 6:

To help you complete a check-up and strategic year-end planning for your business, we will publish helpful tips and ideas through the end of the year. This tip is part of our ongoing series.

Business Check-up No. 6:

Review your independent contractor relationships. The Internal Revenue Service and many States (i.e., their Department of Revenue and/or Department of Labor) are auditing business/corporate tax filings and reports concerning their use of independent contractors. In cases where the IRS and/or the State tax agents reclassify "independent contractors" as employees, the business is not only required to withhold/pay the required tax payments (i.e., FICA, FUTA, etc.), they are usually also assessed significant penalties for failing to file and pay the required employment taxes.  So review your situation with a business lawyer and avoid a potentially costly reclassification of your independent contractors!

Check for updates every week day through December 31st.

Happy Holidays from Griffith & Jacobson, LLC!

______________________________________________________________

For information on how the business lawyers at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC can help your business grow, contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum at 312-236-8110 or by email at Contact Us (http://www.gjlaw.com/contact).

Griffith & Jacobson, LLC – We know business – Chicago’s Business Lawyers.

 

Year-End Business Check-Up Tip No. 4

To help you complete a check-up and strategic year-end planning for your business, we will publish helpful tips and ideas through the end of the year. This tip is part of our ongoing series.

Business Check-up No. 4:

Be sure your employee files are in compliance with state laws. Ensure your employee posters/notices are up to date.

Check for updates every week day through December 31st.

Happy Holidays from Griffith & Jacobson, LLC!

______________________________________________________________

For information on how the business lawyers at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC can help your business grow, contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum at 312-236-8110 or by email at Contact Us (http://www.gjlaw.com/contact).

Griffith & Jacobson, LLC – We know business – Chicago’s Business Lawyers.

 

Year-End Business Check-Up Tip No. 3

To help you complete a check-up and strategic year-end planning for your business, we will publish helpful tips and ideas through the end of the year. This tip is part of our ongoing series.

Business Check-up No. 3:

Review employment policies & procedures. Update them to cover mobile and social media usage & data protection.

Check for updates every week day through December 31st.

Happy Holidays from Griffith & Jacobson, LLC!

______________________________________________________________

For information on how the business lawyers at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC can help your business grow, contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum at 312-236-8110 or by email at Contact Us (http://www.gjlaw.com/contact).

Griffith & Jacobson, LLC – We know business – Chicago’s Business Lawyers.

 

Year-end Business Check-up Tip No. 2

To help you complete a check-up and strategic year-end planning for your business, we will publish helpful tips and ideas through the end of the year. This tip is part of our ongoing series.

Business Check-up No. 2:

Review contracts & forms. Address key provisions (i.e., dispute resolution, venue, warranties, liability limits).

Check for updates every week day through December 31st.

Happy Holidays from Griffith & Jacobson, LLC!

______________________________________________________________

For information on how the business lawyers at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC can help your business grow, contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum at 312-236-8110 or by email at Contact Us (http://www.gjlaw.com/contact).

Griffith & Jacobson, LLC – We know business – Chicago’s Business Lawyers.

 

Year-End Business Check-Up Tip No.1

To help you complete a check-up and strategic year-end planning for your business, we will publish helpful tips and ideas through the end of the year. This tip is part of our ongoing series.

Business checkup no.1:

Assess corporate governance & comply w/ statutory & formality requirements or lose protection of limited liability.

Check for updates every week day through December 31st.

Happy Holidays from Griffith & Jacobson, LLC!

______________________________________________________________

For information on how the business lawyers at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC can help your business grow, contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum at 312-236-8110 or by email at Contact Us (http://www.gjlaw.com/contact).

Griffith & Jacobson, LLC – We know business – Chicago’s Business Lawyers.

 

IRS delays reporting requirements for Group Health Care Coverage for Businesses

Under the recently passed Affordable Care Act of 2010, businesses should have started reporting group health care coverage in 2011. The Act requires businesses to report the value of employer-sponsored health coverage, by indicating the cost of the health insurance coverage they provide employees on each employee's annual Form W-2.  However, IRS has decided to delay such reporting requirements.

The IRS determined that interim relief was needed to to provide employers the time they need to make changes to their payroll systems or procedures in preparation for compliance with this requirement. So, the IRS will defer the reporting requirement for 2011, making that reporting by employers optional in 2011. The interim relief from the IRS does not require companies to file the reports until 2012.

See IRS guidance: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-2010-69.pdf http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=220809,00.html

Top 5 Business Tips – How to Protect Yourself from Employee Lawsuits

With the economy still sputtering, your business needs to take advantage of the resources available to them. SCORE (http://www.score.org) offers useful, free resources, business counseling and business tools to small businesses.

One of SCORE’s great resources is its lists of “Top 5 Business Tips.” My pick for this week is SCORE’s 5 Tips on How to Protect Yourself from Employee Lawsuits - check it out at:  http://www.score.org/5_tips_leg_7.html.

SCORE is a partner with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and is a national association dedicated to helping small business owners form and grow their businesses. SCORE offers terrific free resources, business counseling and business tools for small businesses.

____________________________________________________________

For information on how the business lawyers at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC can help your business grow, contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum at 312-236-8110 or by email at Contact Us (http://www.gjlaw.com/contact).

Griffith & Jacobson, LLC – We know business – Chicago’s Business Lawyers.

Legal Guides & Answers to Business Issues

Chicago Business bLAWg contributor and attorney with the law firm of Griffith & Jacobson, LLC, Arieh M. Flemenbaum, has several legal guides and has answered several questions from business owners on http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/60603-il-arieh-flemenbaum-1102412.html:

Arieh's legal Guides on Avvo.com:
Read my legal guides at Avvo.com/

Arieh M. Flemenbaum has also answered many questions and issues posed by business owners.  Below is a link to the questions and Arieh's answers:

Get my answers to legal questions at Avvo.com

Arieh Mordechai Flemenbaum

View lawyer's profile

Bring Jobs to Illinois - Revive the Emerging Technology Bill

Spur your congressman to take action on legislation that will help bring jobs to and keep technology investments in Illinois.

Your Illinois congressmen have let Senate bill (SB1522) wither. The bill, if passed will pump up to $15,000,000 (per year) into emerging technology companies in Illinois and provide up to a 25% tax credit for Illinois tech company investors under the Illinois "Emerging Technology Industries Act".

The grant program will be run by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (the DCEO). The DCEO will award grants to emerging-technology enterprises in Illinois based on certain  requirements set by the Act and its regulations.

Provisions of the bill also amend the Illinois Income Tax Act to create  an income tax credit for qualified investors who make an investment in an emerging technology enterprise in Illinois. The DCEO will certify the amount of the credit and enforce the provisions for the revocation and recapture of the tax credit if the credit's requirements are not met.

The Act will bring quality, tech-related jobs to  and spur investment in the emerging tech businesses in Chicago and throughout Illinois. Various groups and organizations involved in the tech industry such as the Illinois Technology Association support the bill- see http://www.illinoistech.org/associationnews.aspx/497.

Crain's Chicago Business recently ran an article (Bill would boost Illinois' biotech startups) discussing the competitive disadvantage hampering efforts to attracting biotech (and other emerging tech) companies to Illinois:

“Illinois’ programs and support of entrepreneurs don’t even approach what other states are doing from a competitive point of view,” said David Miller, executive director of the Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization, or iBio."

For the full article go to: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=38095

Show your support for the bill and demand that your Congressman revive the bill and bring quality jobs to Illinois.  To find out who is your Congressman go to: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/findyourreps.xpd?state=IL

Support the Illinois Emerging Technology Legislation!