The straight line

Category Archives: Small Business Planning

The Latest News on the Personal Use of Company Cars

The free use of a company car is one of the best perks an employee may be entitled to as part of a compensation package. But the benefit to the employee isn’t completely “free” under current tax law. Essentially, personal use of a company car is treated as a taxable fringe benefit, subject to income tax...

keep reading

Successful Strategies Create Successful Mergers

Acquiring another company and merging it with your business can be the most efficient way to grow. But many acquisitions don’t pay off and it’s often management issues — not market conditions — that get in the way. Here are eight key strategies that spell the difference between success and failure in mergers and acquisitions, no...

keep reading

Demonstrate that Your Firm Won’t Tolerate Harassment

It’s probably impossible for your company to eliminate any chance of harassment, but there are precautions you can take to help win a lawsuit filed by an employee: Above all, have a sound company policy against harassment, which includes discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, national origin, age or disability. Make sure your employees are aware of the...

keep reading

Important Tax Figures for 2015

The following table provides some important federal tax information for 2015, as compared with 2014. Some of the dollar amounts changed due to inflation. Other amounts changed due to legislation. Social Security/ Medicare 2015 2014 Social Security Tax Wage Base $118,500 $117,000 Medicare Tax Wage Base No limit No limit Employee portion of Social Security 6.2%...

keep reading

Tax Extenders

The Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency (EXPIRE) Act proposes to extend several individual, business and energy incentive for up to two years. Those incentives include:

keep reading

Record Management Plans

One question I receive from clients is “how long we should keep our old records?” The issue of how long to keep business records is an important one, but the policy for the destruction of these records is just as important.

keep reading