WASHINGTON, D.C. – Small businesses will play an important role in the nation’s economic future. The Office of Advocacy’s Small Business Profile for the United States, released today, provides details about small business employment, business starts and closings, bank lending in 2008, the demographics of business ownership, and firm and employment change by major industry and firm size.“The United States continues to depend on the health and ingenuity of its small business sector for the nation’s economic growth,” said Susan Walthall, Acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy. “In today’s economic climate, it is especially important for policymakers to keep small business concerns in mind as they formulate policy.”

In 2008, the United States saw an increase of 0.7 percent in GDP and a private sector employment decline of 0.7 percent. The U.S. profile also shows that:

Ø Small employers in the United States numbered 6 million in 2006 (latest data). There were also 20.8 million nonemployers, which increased to 21.7 million by 2007.

Ø Small businesses added 2.5 million net new jobs in 2005-2006. Overall, they employed 50.2 percent of the nation’s nonfarm private workforce in 2006.

Ø Businesses owned by women, and by Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Hawaiians and Pacific Islandeers all increased significantly over the most recent period for which Census data are available.

As additional small business data become available over the coming months, they will be incorporated in a new edition of the state profiles, to be issued in early 2010.

For more information and a complete copy of the state and territory small business profiles, visit the Office of Advocacy website at www.sba.gov/advo.

 

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The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers. For more information, visitwww.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.

Small Wholesalers More Likely To Close Due To Rising Dollar

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A strong dollar (making imports cheaper and exporting more difficult) appears to have little effect on the survival rate of small retailers, according to a study released today by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The study covers 15 years of data, from 1990 through 2005, from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistics of U.S. Businesses and other sources.

On the other hand, the study’s authors found that real exchange rate appreciation lead to increased rates of small firm exit in the wholesale sector. In wholesale firms with more than 10 employees, a 10 percent real dollar appreciation leads to a roughly 20 percent increase in firm closures. This finding suggests that wholesalers are closely tied to domestic manufacturers, and find it hard to switch suppliers to take advantage of falling import prices.

“For many people, the idea of currency exchange rates has no relevance other than how far their dollars will go while on vacation,” said Shawne McGibbon, Acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy. “But it is of vital importance to the owners and employees of small wholesalers. Policy makers should take these concerns into account when making decisions affecting the relative strength and weakness of the dollar,” she added.

Robert M. Feinberg wrote Effects of International Competition on Small Wholesale and Retail Trade Firms with funding from the Office of Advocacy.

For more information and a complete copy of the report, visit the Office of Advocacy web site at www.sba.gov/advo.

The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it funds research into small business issues.

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The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policymakers. For more information, visit www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.

Sole Proprietorships Face Lowest Rates, S Corporations Highest

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The effective federal income tax rate faced by small businesses varies by the legal form of organization, according to a report issued today by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Average rates range from 13.3 percent for sole proprietorships to 26.9 percent for S corporations. The effective federal income tax rate is the actual amount of taxes paid by a firm as a percent of its net income.

Exceptions to the normal statutory tax rates, such as deductions, exclusions, and credits, have the effect of lowering the tax rates paid by firms. The result is a difference between the statutory rate and the actual or effective rate paid by the business or its owners.

Overall, small businesses of all types pay an estimated average effective tax rate of 19.8 percent. Sole proprietorships face a 13.3 percent rate, small partnerships face 23.6 percent, and small S corporations face 26.9 percent. While not directly comparable, the rate faced by small C corporations is 17.5 percent.

The progressivity of the tax code also affects effective rate calculations, as firms with less income face a lower statutory rate. Nearly 60 percent of small sole proprietorships have a net income of less than $10,000, while only 3.1 percent have a net income of at least $100,000. On the other hand, more than 18 percent of small S corporations have a net income of at least $100,000.

Quantria Strategies wrote Effective Federal Income Tax Rates Faced by Small Businesses in the United States, with funding from the Office of Advocacy. The authors primarily used data from the Internal Revenue Service Individual Statistics of Income Public Use File, 2004, as the basis for the study. For the purpose of this study, the authors define a small business as a firm with less than $10 million in gross receipts.

For more information and a complete copy of the report, visit the Office of Advocacy web site at www.sba.gov/advo.

The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it funds research into small business issues.

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The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policymakers. For more information, visit www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.

Study Compares Self-Employed Women To Wage-And-Salary Earners

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Self-employed women are able to spend more time with their children and families, compared to their wage-and-salary earning counterparts, according to a study released today by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The study finds that self-employed women spend about 3.5 more hours per week in household activities than wage-and-salary earning women do, and six more hours than men do.

“Previous studies have established that women enter self-employment for reasons other than potential earnings and that life-style factors heavily influence their decision,” said Shawne McGibbon, Acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy. “This study documents that self-employed women’s time-use patterns are in fact different from those of wage-and-salary earning women. Self-employed women spend less time on work-related activities and more time on household activities and child care.”

Advocacy released Self-Employed Women and Time Use, written by Tami Gurley-Calvez, Katherine Harper, and Amelia Biehl, at the National Women’s Business Council’s 2009 Women’s Business Summit in Washington, DC. The report used data from the American Time Use Survey (2003-2006), sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The authors found that the largest differences in time use between self-employed women and men were in the area of secondary childcare, where a parent is at the same location as the child but is primarily engaged in some other activity such as work or household chores. Moreover, they found that self-employed women also work about 10 fewer hours per week than self-employed men do. Interestingly, the authors also found that relative to men, higher-earning women are slightly more likely to enter self-employment than their lower earning peers are.

The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it funds research into small business issues.

For more information and a complete copy of the report, visit the Office of Advocacy website at www.sba.gov/advo.

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The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policymakers. For more information, visit www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration saved American small businesses $10.7 billion in foregone regulatory costs in fiscal year 2008, by helping federal agencies comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The RFA requires agencies to analyze the economic impact of proposed regulations on small entities and consider less burdensome alternatives that still reach the agencies’ regulatory goals.

“Small businesses gain when their voice is heard during the regulatory process,” said Shawne McGibbon, Acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy. “When small business is involved in regulatory decision making, more effective and efficient regulations are the result. The Office of Advocacy is proud to bring small businesses’ concerns to the attention of regulators in Washington, and we are especially proud of the $10.7 billion in savings that resulted from our efforts.”

Report on the Regulatory Flexibility Act, FY 2008 outlines federal agency compliance with the RFA, describes agency adherence to Executive Order 13272 that strengthens the RFA, and documents the results of Advocacy’s Regulatory Review and Reform (r3) and Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Model Legislation initiatives.

Other highlights of Advocacy’s efforts include:

Ø Submitting 33 public comment letters to federal agencies on regulatory proposals,
Ø Convening 28 roundtables to solicit opinions and concerns of small business stakeholders,
Ø Delivering the 2008 r3 Top 10 Rules for Review and Reform to agencies for their action, and
Ø Working with stakeholders in five states to pass regulatory flexibility legislation.

The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it funds research into small business issues.

For more information and a complete copy of Report on the Regulatory Flexibility Act, FY 2008, visit the Office of Advocacy website at www.sba.gov/advo.

The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policymakers. For more information, visit www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.

5/13/2009 update about Google Cash – it looks like the original Google Cash may be trying to distance itself from the recent onslaught of Google Cash knockoffs. The original Google Cash now redirects to GCWorkAtHomeSystem.com instead of AffiliateJackPot.

Important 3/28/2009 update: A new product is calling itself Google Cash. That is NOT the Google Cash mentioned at WorkAtHomeTruth. The new product calling itself Google Cash:

• Is NOT on the WorkAtHomeTruth Top 10 Recommended list.
• Has NOTHING to do with the Google Cash that was reviewed here.

IMPORTANT: The NEW product calling itself Google Cash  is promoted from a site called OnlineWizard.net and has a $1.99 "Instant Access Fee" and then will charge your credit card $49/month after 72 hours unless you follow the procedures outlined in their Terms and Conditions. I have NO idea what that product is. You can tell that it's a different product because in the Terms of Service it's called the Online Wizard Success Kit.

I think some websites may also be calling the NEW product Google Cash Kit. I'm not 100% sure about that yet.

The FOLLOWING is about the ORIGINAL Google Cash product reviewed HERE at WorkAtHomeTruth.

Is Google Cash a scam? Well, no. But something GoogleCash is doing now is quite scammy. They pulled MY testimonial from my review of Google Cash and posted it on their new sales letter. The took my testimonial COMPLETELY out of context. In fact if you read on you'll see I don't even recommend that you buy Google Cash anymore.

In fact what I say on the WorkAtHomeTruth site is that I do NOT recommend Chris Carpenter's Google Cash to someone that is new to internet marketing. Instead of the Google Cash adwords method I suggest people click here to learn how to start with a method called Bootstrapping Your Business.

And if you DO want to learn Google Cash type methods I recommend you use Matt Levenhagen's Campaign Blasts method instead.

I see that Google Cash is now falling back on the "magic money" claim that you can make money at the system by spending only a few hours a week which while might be somewhat true after you've studied and used such a system for a year or so. But about 1 in a MILLION people would be able to do that right off the bat at all. And almost always you DO need a website to be able to do that.

Plus they're honing in on the dream of making money without a website. That's certainly possible these days but now the Google Cash system is probably one of the WORST and hardest ways to go about it.

In fact, one of the easiest, newbie friendly ways to make money without a website now is the Kindle Profits Exposed system which leverages the traffic of the multi-billion dollar company Amazon.com.

So. Is Google Cash a scam? Well, no. But I do NOT recommend GoogleCash at ALL anymore and they are nowhere to even be found on our Top Ten Home Businesses list.

Note: In order to clear up the confusion about which Google Cash is reviewed at WorkAtHomeTruth, I've posted information below:

• GoogleCashGenerator.info promotes something called Google Cash Kit and sends their visit to the Google Cash product at TheOnlineWizard site – which is NOT the Google Cash reviewed at WorkAtHomeTruth.

Also, the following products have NOTHING to do with the original Google Cash product from 2003/2004:

• Easy GoogleCash
• GoogleMoney – a.k.a. GoogleMoneySystem
• Google FastCash
• Google CashKit
• Make GoogleCash
• GoogleCash Starter Kit
• GooglePayoutSystem
• GoogleCash Center

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Small businesses and their representatives are continuing to nominate federal rules in need of review and reform. Nominations for the 2009 Top 10 Rules for Review and Reform are being received from across the country and a variety of industries. They are in response to the Office of Advocacy’s Regulatory Review and Reform (r3) initiative.

Momentum is building for the second year of the r3 initiative Top 10,” said Shawne McGibbon, acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy. “With the success of last year’s Top 10, small business understands that making constructive suggestions for how to improve current rules can result in federal agency action.”

The 2008 Top 10 rules included several that have been reviewed and reformed during the year. For example, in October the EPA encouraged small business to recycle and reclaim their spent materials by reforming the “definition of solid waste.” By reviewing and reforming the definition, EPA is encouraging recycling rather than disposal of certain spent materials.

Moreover, Congress also recognizes the potential the r3 initiative has for unburdening small business in a time of economic uncertainty. In July, Chairman Charles Gonzalez (D-TX) of the Regulations, Healthcare, and Trade Subcommittee of the U.S. House Small Business Committee held an oversight hearing on “Regulatory Burdens on Small Firms: What Rules Need Reforms?” that examined the 2008 r3 Top 10 Rules for Review and Reform.

That hearing resulted in the introduction of the Home Office Tax Deduction Simplification and Improvement Act (H.R. 7074). The bill simplifies the home office deduction by introducing a standard deduction for small business owners. It is companion legislation to S. 3371, introduced earlier this year by Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). Simplification of the home office deduction was one of the 2008 Top 10 nominations.

The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration is still seeking nominations of federal rules in need of review and reform. Early next year, the Office of Advocacy will transmit the 2009 Top 10 rules nominated by small business owners, trade associations, to the appropriate federal agencies for review and reform.

Nominate regulations needing review and reform by visiting the Office of Advocacy r3 website at www.sba.gov/advo/r3, by sending an email to advocacy@sba.gov, or by calling Keith Holman at (202) 205-6533. Nominations are due by December 31, 2008.

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The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers. For more information, visit www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Environmental Protection Agency’s recent actions reforming the Oil Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule contains provisions that will benefit small business. The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration is encouraged that the EPA listened to small business and included those provisions in the reformed rule.

“Advocacy has worked for years with the EPA to get the SPCC rule right for small business,” said Shawne McGibbon, acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy. “EPA’s announcement of the current SPCC rule reform shows that they have listened to the concerns of small business and have acted to alleviate those concerns.”

The SPCC program is designed to prevent spills of oil into waterways, and to contain spills after they occur. Facilities subject to the program must develop spill prevention plans designed to prevent and minimize such discharges.

EPA’s amendments are designed to increase overall compliance by small firms while reducing the regulatory burden on facilities that handle small volumes of oil and have a history of no reportable discharge. For small facilities, EPA introduced a reporting template and other streamlined requirements. It also included a visual inspection option for small volume tanks.

EPA realized that its original rule put an unnecessary burden on firms that did not significantly contribute to the oil spill problem EPA was attempting to address. The revised rule takes up issues raised by Advocacy in a June 2004 comment letter and report, and contains many of the changes suggested by the Office of Advocacy in February 2006 comments to EPA.

The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it funds research into small business issues.

For more information, visit the Office of Advocacy web site at www.sba.gov/advo.

The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers. For more information, visit www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.

It's the official blog of The Small Business Office of Advocacy which is "The Voice for Small Business in the Federal Government and the Source for Small Business Statistics".

Not surprisingly, the biggest issue for small businesses still centers around HealthCare – but the Small Busines Advocacy Blog makes an important observation that seems to be lost on many politicians:

" That’s the key distinction that seems to be lost as we approach the November election. Almost everyone focuses on access to healthcare. But in some ways they are ignoring small businesses’ main concern, which is the cost component."

You can visit the Small Business Advocacy Blog here:

Small Business Advocacy Blog

Related sites:

Small Business Office of Adovacy

National Small Business Association