According to a widely circulated email from the Freelancers Union, on Thursday, January 15, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg called for a tax cut for freelancers. New York City is rife with freelancers, and less common, but still present, are billionaires; rarely twain the two paths cross. So in a refreshing turn of events, Mayor Mike sided with the underdogs in his call to reduce taxes on the same freelancers, including citizen journalists and bloggers like this one, who help shape the larger construct of public opinion in the online community. This move by Mayor Mike was a good one because more and more the Internet is from where people get their information; this has strangely become more and more important than what actually may be true. In New…

With the economy in the doldrums, you might be concerned about losing your job, getting a pay cut or not making ends meet. However, you can take steps right now to brighten your financial future. Here are some ideas for recession-proofing your finances. 1. Be The Hardest Worker At Your Jobsite If your company is having problems, you don't want to be the first person that they let go. While some companies will let people go based on seniority, many will lay off the people that perform poorly first. If you are making money for your company, it makes no financial sense to fire you. Be the best worker at your job, and they'll keep you around. While you may have to use the internet to do your job, NEVER…

When I started saving plate number blocks of United States stamps in 1984, the first class letter rate had just increased from 18 to 20 cents. It has since more than doubled. The cost of every United States Postal Service product has also increased. The mail doesn't get delivered twice as fast. Has the overall quality of service increased? Ask the on-line seller whose customer recently wrote to let him know that her vinyl record album arrived in two pieces. Service may have been sacrificed for revenue enhancement, but the customer need not pay face value for stamps. However, buying stamps has never been easier, and with freedom stamps, the value is excellent. Stamps In World War II In the years following World War II, when United States commemoratives were…

The year 2010 will go down for our small business as better than a year ago - much better - but not among our best. As a small residential and commercial mortgage broker, the second half of 2010 saved the year with the dip in residential mortgage rates spurring some unanticipated refinance business. At the same time, the commercial real estate sector did start to thaw, but lenders are re-entering the market treading very lightly. The observation we would walk away with is that lending, overall, is still suffering from an aversion to risk. Financial institutions are taking few chances with lending and rightly so. Given the unprecedented level of scrutiny not only coming from regulators, these institutions have been beaten up by the media, by consumers, by Congress and…

Federal tax identification numbers (EIN) and state identification numbers are similar in that they are both needed by businesses to file their taxes and make tax deposits. Beyond income and employee taxes, they are used for different reasons. Federal and state tax identification numbers are both used to file corporate income taxes, but each are used for filings unique to the state or federal government. State requirements vary from state to state. If you have employees for whom you must make income tax withholding deposits, you need both a an EIN and a state tax identification number, if the state in which the business operates has an income tax. The EIN is used to report excise taxes and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms taxes. The state identification number is used to…

The rate of failure at small businesses is alarmingly high and very unfortunate, but it is a fact of life. Small businesses owner across the world enter the market with their best intentions only to find out just a few years later their business won't be able to sustain. There are countless reasons why most small businesses do not survive, but they are often spurred by two factors: the business owner or the market. Rather than being discouraged from starting your own home business, learn from the mistakes others have made time and time again. Here are some of the more common reasons why most home businesses fail. USING TRADITIONAL BUSINESS PRACTICES Most home business owners come from an employee mindset so once starting their own business they use traditional…