Even when corporate retailers collect California sales taxes from customers, the individuals running the entity face liability for that debt. That’s because, , if the business doesn’t pay, state law allows collection from the business owners themselves The rules are complicated and the results can be harsh if the business falls behind. So business people […]
Bail Yourself Out Of Payroll Tax Trouble
Business owners with unpaid payroll taxes are in deep trouble. Even if the employer is a corporation, the corporation’s managers are personally liable for the trust fund portion of unpaid payroll taxes. There’s no corporate shield when it comes to payroll taxes. You are in the IRS’s cross hairs, personally, if the business hands out “net” checks […]
Closing Up Shop
What can you do when it becomes obvious that your business should close? The hardest part of being in business is recognizing when the business has no future and needs to close. Yet the overwhelming majority of new businesses fail within 5 years. So you’re not alone. In fact, in the face of the pandemic, […]
How To Write A Contract Without A Lawyer & Make It Stick
Even in a world where people attempt almost any skilled task with the help of Google, YouTube, or Legal Zoom, people continue to ask: is this contract legal? They aren’t asking (usually) whether the subject matter of the contract is permitted by law. They really want to know: will what I’ve written be enforceable. What makes it […]
What’s Up After Tax Extension To File?
The tax extension in the mail and you don’t have to think about income taxes til October 15th approaches. Right? Not in my book, if you are self employed. The self employed don’t have their estimated income taxes withheld from their paychecks. There aren’t any paychecks if you are among that resolute band of entrepreneurs, […]
Time Running Out On Dynamite Business Reorganization Opportunity
In less than a month, the nifty new small business bankruptcy option that makes Chapter 11 feasible for the little guy reverts to its far smaller debt limits. Still great, but available to fewer troubled businesses. SBRA is a new subset of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Also called a Subchapter V case, it’s designed […]
Incorporating A Troubled Business: Work-around Or Worse?
Facets on a gem bend light and change how we see things. The same thing happens when bankruptcy law encounters a small business owner and the business itself. Seen from one angle of the law, the business is a valuable asset. Seen from another, it is nothing more than a job for the owner, having […]
The Easiest Business Loan In Town
Running a small business is hard work. Cash flow is tight; time is in short supply. When there’s just not enough in the bank to cover payroll, the easiest loan in town is from the Bank of Uncle Sam. There’s no application, no review, no waiting. You just give employees their checks, net of […]
Who Owns Your Business When You File Bankruptcy?
The bankruptcy trustee’s question was straightforward (if inartful) yet the business owner nearly blew the answer. The trustee asked: are you the sole owner of your business? When my client hesitated, she followed up: are you a sole proprietor? Focusing on the fact that he was the only person with an interest in the business, […]
Myth Of The Corporate Credit Card
As far as myths go, the myth of the business credit card ranks right up there with unicorns, Big Foot, and leprechauns . Every struggling small business owner who crosses the threshold of my office believes that his corporate credit card is not a personal debt. Wrong. In 41 years of bankruptcy practice, I have never seen […]
