Does your Maine-based small business sell products or services over the Internet? It is extremely important to understand the laws pertaining to the collection of sales taxes. Collecting sales tax is relatively straight forward if your business has a physical store. You charge your customers the sales tax required by the jurisdiction where your business  Continue Reading »

Years ago, many companies dealt with vendors, suppliers, customers and others that were located in the same geographic area. Today, the Internet has made the business world a much smaller place, and it’s not unusual to engage in transactions with entities in multiple states and even countries. While doing business outside your area may open  Continue Reading »

Thanks to legislation passed in 2013, the federal income tax rates for individuals remain historically low for single taxpayers with taxable income below $400,000.The rates for C corporations, however, remain at the same levels that have been in place for years. As a Maine-based business owner, you may wonder if you should switch a C  Continue Reading »

Let’s say you’ve decided to sell your Maine-based business. There are two basic ways to sell an incorporated business: sell the assets or sell the stock. Sellers prefer stock sales because profits are generally taxed at a maximum federal rate of only 15 percent. Also, when selling C corporation stock, double taxation is avoided since  Continue Reading »

If you are a small business owner in Maine, you might be interested in hiring younger, seasonal workers, and you may be able to take advantage of a lower federal minimum wage. Employees under age 20 can be paid a “youth minimum wage,” for the first 90 consecutive calendar days. This lower wage can be  Continue Reading »

The regulatory and legal pressure on employers to tightly monitor their 401(k) plan costs has always been strong, but employers may soon find a little help.  At the same time, however, small employers must be aware that the federal judiciary is still paying close attention to whether or not employers are adhering to all regulations.  Continue Reading »

A small business owner may have several reasons for wanting to permanently close their business. In many cases it is simply because they are losing money. It could also be that the owners launched a company as friends and the relationship has soured over time. Or maybe the owners are ready to retire and have  Continue Reading »

Receivables aren’t really useful if they aren’t turned into cash. Your Maine-based small business really needs to keep tight control of its outstanding invoices so you are fully aware of the receivables situation and can take steps to improve the turnover of those accounts. Here are five steps that can help you speed up the  Continue Reading »

In today’s tough economy, the availability of business credit remains tight. Financial institutions are cautious and highly skeptical of new lending requests. In addition to increased scrutiny regarding new relationships, bankers are also increasingly turning their focus to existing customers. With little or no notice, lenders are closing business credit lines or reducing the amount of  Continue Reading »

Suppose you’ve been doing business with a company that owes your Maine-based business money or has been late in paying for services you have provided. You might have even filed a lawsuit to obtain the payments. But then you receive a notice that the company has filed for bankruptcy. Filler & Associates has come up with some  Continue Reading »