Payroll, typically the biggest expense of any business in the pond and water feature industry, has come a long way since first taxed in 1913. The 16th Amendment to the Constitution gives Congress the “power to lay and collect taxes on incomes.” The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established the minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping […]
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The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has been a godsend for many pond business owners. Both the original draw in April 2020 and the recently announced second draw in January 2021 were aimed at helping small businesses keep workers on the payroll and pay other bills during the pandemic. There was some initial confusion about turning […]
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It is no surprise that many pond professionals fail to understand the tax ramifications of disposing of business property. Under our current rules, which are often confusing and complex, there are numerous ways to dispose of business assets: selling them, scrapping them, exchanging them for another business asset, or even giving them away, just to […]
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Growing a pond or water-feature business relies on solid communication with both existing and potential customers. Without a solid marketing plan, it is difficult to collect leads, build the operation’s brand or increase sales. As important as traditional marketing has been in the past, digital marketing is quickly surpassing it. And, best of all, tax […]
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Employers have long preferred to treat workers as independent contractors, reaping payroll tax savings and avoiding any fringe benefits and other expenses associated with employees. By the same token, workers — including the owners of many pond and water feature businesses — could potentially lower their own tax bills by shifting from being an employee […]
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Industry events such as the Water Garden Expo in February are a good way to gain know-how, find new suppliers and network with others in the industry. Best of all, Uncle Sam, in the form of our tax laws, is willing to pick up the expense of attending many of these events — at least […]
Read MoreWhether the result of a booming economy, tighter immigration laws or an educational system gone astray, finding qualified pond construction job applicants has become increasingly more difficult for those in this industry. Even more troubling for smaller businesses is the question of how they can compete for badly needed, qualified workers. Surprisingly, survey after […]
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Pass-through business entities, garden pond professionals operating as partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), S corporations and sole proprietorships have long been extremely popular. In fact, one form of pass-through business entity, the S corporation, is currently the most used business entity. LLCs are also frequently chosen for pass-through income purposes. Unfortunately, thanks to the recently […]
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Since 2010, small-business owners have seen a significant uptick in reasonable compensation challenges, as the IRS has increasingly trained its tax examiners to examine payroll tax issues — among them, reasonable compensation. After all, the payment of a salary in excess of what the IRS considers “reasonable,” the payment of personal expenses by the business, […]
Read MoreRegardless of when you plan, the goal with any planning is to keep the tax bill at a legal minimum, year after year. So, keeping in mind that a garden pond professional’s obligation is to pay their fair share of taxes — and not a dollar more — consider a few last-minute tax-savings tips, such […]
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