President Obama and small business

I was once again impressed with President Obama’s clear thinking and oratory power as I listened last night to his talk to congress and the world. He was realistic and clear about the depth of our national and global problems, yet optimistic and hopeful about an economic recovery. While he does have an ambitious agenda, he also has the energy and support to carry out much of his program.

The president did brush briefly on the plight of small businesses and apparently his proposed assistance to them is to reduce taxes. This may help some of the larger “small businesses” who will be able to plow more of their retained earnings into capital and human investment, but will have a negligible, if any, effect on most small businesses. As I wrote in an earlier post, the government appears to be somewhat blinded to the needs of the majority of small businesses – those with fewer than 20 employees. I will restate that the administration and congress need to develop programs to encourage entrepreneurship and assist the very small businesses with financial resources and training to enable them to grow, employ, and survive. I again recommend and support a council or round-table discussion about very small business issues with the administration.

The IRS is not a bank

Consulting with a client recently I learned that he owes the IRS over $30,000 in back payroll taxes plus penalties plus interest and is attempting to work out a payment plan with the IRS. This, unfortunately, is not an unusual scenario.

It is easy and tempting for a business experiencing cash-flow problems to defer making the required monthly or quarterly deposits of income and FICA tax withheld from employee paychecks. This is a terrible trap to fall into, because, as the withheld taxes are held in trust, the company has a fiduciary responsibility to deposit the money on the timetable stipulated by the IRS. Failure to do so can rack up significant penalties and interest. The IRS can go after the business and/or the owner or others responsible for failing to make the deposits.

The IRS is not a bank, and business owners with cash-flow problems need to find ways of raising cash, increasing sales, or reducing costs rather than not making timely tax deposits.