Credit unions have stepped up their lending. In Austin and across the country, many of these cooperatives have posted record lending growth in recent years and are pushing for the ability to do more. Meanwhile, forthcoming crowdfunding rules could open up a new, multibillion-dollar pipeline between small businesses and the investing public at large.
Read more at Statesman.com
But in a series of recent rulings and advisories, labor regulators have declared many such blanket restrictions illegal. TheNational Labor Relations Board says workers have a right to discuss work conditions freely and without fear of retribution, whether the discussion takes place at the office or on Facebook.
Read more of the article by Steven Greenhouse
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The American Institute of CPA’s has created a calculator that gives an idea of the total taxes, federal, state, and local, that we pay. TotalTaxInsights.org is brought to you by the American Institute of CPAs, a longtime advocate for sound tax policy, tax simplification and taxpayer education
In a stunning blow to the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to regulate the tax preparation profession, a federal judge struck down the IRS’s licensing requirements for tax preparers on Friday, including testing and continuing education.
Read more in Accounting Today.
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) extended the qualified charitable distribution (QCD) provisions for 2012 and 2013. Several special transition rules were included in ATRA to enable taxpayers to have a donation made before February 1, 2013, treated as a 2012 QCD.
A QCD is an otherwise taxable distribution from an IRA (other than an ongoing SEP or SIMPLE IRA) owned by an individual who is age 70½ or over that is paid directly from the IRA to a qualified charity. An IRA owner can exclude from gross income up to $100,000 of a QCD made for a year, and a QCD can be used to satisfy any IRA required minimum distributions (RMDs) for the year. Also, the amount of a QCD excluded from gross income is not taken into account in determining any deduction for charitable contributions.
Starting in 2014, President Barack Obama’s health care law will expand coverage to some 30 million uninsured people. At the same time, insurers no longer will be allowed to turn away those in poor health, and virtually every American will be required to have health insurance — through an employer or a government program or by buying it on their own.
The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have issued a set of proposed regulations on the 3.8 percent Net Investment Income Tax that takes effect next year as a result of the health care reform law, along with a FAQ page with questions and answers.
Net Investment Income Tax FAQs.
Note his fund raising model.
Pedernales Brewing makes waves in local craft beer market – Austin Business Journal.
If Wal-Mart includes fresh produce and deli/food to go sections like Tesco in the UK, they will have a winning model. The area around the University of Texas could use a shop like this. The only grocery store available by foot in the area is a small, expensive shop opened by The Co-op. Even Wheatsville is too far to go if you live in the apartments west of Guadalupe. HEB is at Hancock Center, a couple of miles away.
Walgreens should convert their stores into Wal-Greens, add fresh fruit and vegetables and healthy take out options. That company already has great real estate in many neighborhoods. Here’s an article about the food oasis stores that Walgreens has opened.
We’ve been using T-accounts for a long time!