Many small business owners feel buried in paperwork. Running a small business requires a certain amount of commitment that only the owner is able to tackle. But this means that there is a mountain of paperwork that comes with the territory. Among other things, the bills must be paid and the checkbook must be reconciled  Continue Reading »

A natural disaster is always bad news for a Maine-based small business, but sometimes a tax break can be salvaged. A hurricane, earthquake, tornado, fire, flood, or storm usually means that business owners can claim a casualty loss deduction on their tax returns. Usually, vehicle collisions or thefts also qualify for the tax break. Remember,  Continue Reading »

What happens if you’re the owner of a limited liability company (LLC) that generates tax losses, and you don’t spend a lot of time in the activities of the business? The losses might be classified as passive, and your ability to currently deduct them might be severely restricted by the passive activity loss (PAL) rules.  Continue Reading »

Fraud within a small business used to be rare. But now, many different types of organizations are falling victim to internal fraud. The good news is that while no anti-fraud system is infallible,there are things that small business owners can do to reduce the risk of fraud. Some of these things include: Setting up incident  Continue Reading »

When you take out personal loans to buy a Maine-based small business, you want to maximize the tax write-offs for the resulting interest expense. The tax law in this area can seem complicated. But if you do some research ahead of time and talk with Filler & Associates, you can get the best possible outcome. The first  Continue Reading »

As a Maine-based small business owner, it may seem like a natural progression to expand north. Canada is a globally competitive country and an extremely cost-effective market. This makes it a good choice for businesses, especially those in the northern United States, to enter. When considering an international expansion, there are five important issues involved  Continue Reading »

In recent months, several states and localities have passed laws to mandate paid sick leave. One way the local laws differ is in the grounds required for taking sick leave. Most cover sick leave when the employees or their family members are sick, and some also cover preventative care. Many are now granting coverage for  Continue Reading »

Studies show that staff members and managers can be greatly resistant to change, whether it be a major restructuring or a simple change in the color of the office. It may feel like an over-reaction, but to some employees change can suggest an invasion of turf. They might worry that new procedures or equipment will  Continue Reading »

As a small business owner, you may have had the experience of buying a new, state of the art machine, only to find out that you paid more for features you really didn’t need. Or maybe you’ve invested in an inexpensive piece of business equipment that didn’t work properly and ended up being more trouble  Continue Reading »

When the owners of a C corporation sell their business’ stock for a large profit, usually they are taxed at a maximum federal rate of 20 percent, as long as they’ve had the shares for more than a year. Relatively speaking, this tax rate isn’t too bad. However, a tax-free sale to an ESOP would  Continue Reading »