On March 18, 2010 the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act was enacted. This piece of legislation, also known as the “Jobs Bill”, is designed to encourage the employment and retention of unemployed individuals. There are two components to this bill, the payroll tax exemption and the business credit for retaining newly hired individuals.

The payroll tax exemption is available to taxable businesses and tax-exempt organizations. It exempts the employer from paying the 6.2% employer share of social security tax on all wages paid to a qualified employee for wages paid between 03/19/10 and 12/31/10. This caps at $6,621.60, which is the maximum amount of employer social security tax liability for the current calendar year. The payroll tax exemption credit is claimed on the employer’s quarterly 941, beginning with the second quarter of 2010. Therefore, the credit for wages paid during the 1^st quarter of 2010 will be claimed on the 2^nd quarter 2010 form 941. Employers will have to indicate on the W-2 the amount of wages covered by payroll tax exemption.

Running a business is like navigating through a constant sea of change, and challenging economic conditions only add to the storm.  Having a plan with clearly defined objectives coupled with the will to implement that plan will get your business sailing smoothly and on course.  Through countless meetings with entrepreneurs and business owners, I have compiled a list of 50 easy-to-understand ideas to lead your company toward improved profitability.  So here they are…

Planning for success

1.    Prepare a strategic plan with 1-year, 3-year and 5-year goals.  
2.    Determine up to five key success factors for your business.  Monitor these factors weekly.
3.    Implement and monitor a budget.  It could save you thousands of dollars each year.
4.    Each year, abandon up to 10 percent of your business that is not aligned with your strategic plan.
5.    Seek input from outside your organization.  The cost of professional advice is not material when dreams become realities.
6.    Create an “exit” strategy now.

Two bills signed into law by President Obama at the end of March will change health care in the United States and have an impact on every medical practice, employer and citizen of our country.

While many of the changes mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Affordability Act of 2010 will not be implemented for a number of years, others will take effect immediately.

The new landmark laws will have an impact on many key health reform areas. However, they did not address the issues related to the Sustainable Growth Rate formula used for setting Medicare physician payment rates.

Physicians continue to be subject to a last-minute guessing game of whether Medicare reimbursement will drop precipitously or Congress will step in at the last minute to stave off the cuts. Congress is expected to address this problem when it returns from recess in April.

The two new laws together exceed 3,000 pages. The following information highlights some of the more important areas impacting employers, individuals and medical practices.

When starting a new business, an owner is faced with a very important decision.  What form of entity should my business operate under?  The answer is not always clear and will require some careful thought.  Let’s start with the basic question...

What are my choices?

The general choices are:

• A regular or C corporation
• An S corporation
• A limited liability company (LLC)
• A limited liability partnership (LLP)
• A general partnership
• A limited partnership
• A sole proprietorship

All states now recognize LLPs.  Some states allow one-member LLCs or have special entity types for professional, such as the professional corporation or a similar professional-oriented variation of the LLC or LLP.