Taxes, Hiring And The Minimun Wage In Ohio

April 5, 2014 by

business (7)It is the tax season and talk about taxes, penalties, tax cuts, minimum wage and hiring are the talk of the town.  For everyone that is still procrastinating about doing their taxes, I just want to remind you you ONLY have 10 DAYS left.   If you are not ready nor will be ready in ten days time, it is probably wise for you to file and extension to file later and avoid those pesky penalties the IRS will impose on you. For more news about what is happening in Ohio please follow the links below.

Push for $10.10 minimum wage would create winners, losers in Ohio

Amy Zickefoose’s husband works long, difficult hours with machines in Tennessee, hundreds of miles from their Mansfield home . For this dangerous work, he receives $11 an hour.

State and federal politicians have proposed raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour by 2016, but Zickefoose said fast-food employees shouldn’t be paid that much.

“I definitely don’t feel (they) should make almost as much as my husband,” said, Zickefoose, adding that she doesn’t believe an increase would help her family . “I know his boss wouldn’t give him another dollar.”

An increase in the minimum wage, which is $7.95 an hour in Ohio, would mean layoffs and potentially higher food prices, but also better-paid workers and potentially lower costs for social services. Whether that sounds like a great or horrible idea depends largely on where you fit into the workforce.

“From the employees’ perspective, a wage increase is always appreciated,” said Randy Davies, president and CEO of the Chillicothe-Ross Chamber of Commerce. “There are many aspects a small business owner  would have to adjust.”

The Congressional Budget Office estimated 500,000 workers, or 0.3 percent of the American workforce, would lose their jobs by 2016 if Congress raised the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. However, another 16.5 million would see their wage increase, the report stated.

Faber: Tax cuts, regulatory reform has Ohio going in the ‘right direction’

LIMA — The leader of the state Senate claims Ohio is moving in the right direction, but that is not good enough and more work needs to be done.

Before Republican Gov. John Kasich took office, the state was losing 100,000 jobs per year for several years, Senate President Keith Faber, R-Celina, said. In the last three years, the state has seen private enterprise create 238,000 jobs, including 300 jobs at Ford Motor Co. Lima Engine Plant.

Under former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, Faber pointed out the state’s “rainy day” fund dropped to 89 cents and Kasich inherited a state budget that was $8.5 billion in debt. Today, the “rainy day” fund is approaching $1.5 billion and the budget is balanced.

“We are going in the right direction now,” Faber told about 100 people Friday during the Allen County Republican Party luncheon at the Elks. “Ohio is doing better, we are doing better, but better is still not good enough, because if we sit on our laurels than we should expect to go back to the bad old days of 2010, and 2009 and 2008.”

Survey: Ohio business owners hold off on hiring

More Ohio small and mid-size business owners are expecting higher sales and profits over the next six months compared to a year ago, according to new survey results released today by The PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Bank, Ohio’s fourth largest bank by deposits held, surveys business owners and customers twice a year, gauging sentiments about the economy.

On a less-positive note, the same Ohio business owners told PNC that even though business looks to be improving, it doesn’t mean they plan to hire more people.

“Ohio business owners are still very guarded,” said Mekael Teshome, PNC economist.

The outlook has brightened across the local, national and global economies, Teshome said. For example, six months ago the U.S. government was shutdown.

But small Ohio business owners — who do the majority of the hiring — are looking for more goods news before they risk the investment.

“I see this as indicating businesses are pretty much playing defense. There has been some volatility in Ohio’s economy. We hit a bit of a speed bump in the fourth quarter” from declines in government employment, Teshome said.

“I think that speed bump had something to do with firms taken a more precautionary approach,” he said.

“The other reason I think is the manufacturing rebound is really approaching a more mature, more advanced stage. I think there will be continued improvement in this sector, but not of the same magnitude we saw in 2012,” he said.

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Is Your Small Business Due A Refund?

March 25, 2014 by

business (6)Some of the most interesting news coming for small business owners this week is as follow. If you have filed taxes with the Ohio department of taxation and think that you may had paid too much in taxes, now it’s the time to find out if you are due a check.  If you have specific questions about it you can also give them a call.  The phone numbers for you to call are listed below, give them a call, it may be worth your while.

Ohio looks to return money to small businesses 

The Ohio Department of Taxation is writing checks to small businesses, and some area employers may be eligible to receive money.

That was the gist of Tuesday’s meeting between State cabinet directors, the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce and local small businesses at the Covelli Center, as various government officials shared information about how to take advantage of money available to grow their businesses.

Business owners can call 1-888-405-4039 for general tax questions, or 1-888-722-8829 for questions specifically about the commercial activity tax.

Ohio businesses must comply with Ohio EPA air pollution standards

I plan to buy a small manufacturing business in Ohio. Do I need an air permit?

If you will be using manufacturing equipment, your business must comply with certain environmental regulations. In particular, air pollution regulations are closely monitored and enforced, so you should understand these regulations and obtain any appropriate permits. Ohio EPA may be willing to guide you in this process, but if you aren’t sure about your permitting status, consult an attorney.

When does Ohio require air permits?

Ohio usually requires a “permit to install and operate” (PTIO) before air pollution sources are installed. An air pollution “source” may be anything from an industrial furnace stack to a paint booth, or even a gravel roadway that creates dust.

Are there any exceptions to air permitting requirements?

Yes. There is an exception for very small (“de minimis”) sources of air pollution that have the potential to emit no more than 10 pounds of any individual pollutant in a 24-hour period of continuous operation. This exception also applies to sources that would emit more than 10 pounds if operated continuously for 24 hours, but never do so in normal operations, but the operator must keep records showing that the 10-pound threshold is never exceeded.

FirstEnergy Solutions billing customers for reserve power during arctic weather

AKRON, Ohio — January’s arctic weather drove up heating bills. Now it’s about to increase electric bills for some consumers and businesses.

FirstEnergy Solutions is preparing to bill about 2 million of its 2.7 million retail customers a surcharge for expenses the company will soon have to pay for reserve power it needed when temperatures plummeted below zero.

Residential and small business customers whose electricity bills show FirstEnergy Solutions as the supplier will see a one-time charge of $5 to $15 between May and July.

The 500,000 residents and small businesses that buy from FirstEnergy Solutions through the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council, or NOPEC, will not face the extra charge, said Diane Francis, FES spokeswoman, because the NOPEC contract prohibits it.

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Is It Time For Spring Cleaning Your Business?

March 20, 2014 by

business (4)Spring cleaning for business requires something more than mopping the floors or airing the office. It is a time when the paperwork from the previous year can be organized, receipts for expenses tallied and summarize for your taxes, the health plan for you and your employees should be reviewed and renewed if you haven’t done so by this time of year. Organizing your business for the incoming one is a good habit that can pay off in the long run. To read more about how to organize your business or spring clean your business this year, follow the links below for more information.

Spring cleaning for small business owners

With January and February behind us, most small business owners are likely off to a good start in terms of their first quarter operations, budgeting, and outlook for the rest of the year. However, with spring upon us, there is no better time for business owners to dust off their finances, organize quarterly plans, and prepare for the future. Using the idea of spring cleaning and applying it to a business can fix “messes” in a timely fashion and have a meaningful impact throughout the rest of the year.

Reviewing business plans over the coming weeks is beneficial since it is early enough in the year that budgets can be reworked, yet implementation is still well under way. From a human psychology standpoint, businesses often experience a slow down during summer months, and winter months/end of year are typically reserved for wrapping up, squeezing in last minute profits, and planning for the next year.

Below, we outline several areas that owners may want to consider “cleaning” this season:

3 Spring Cleaning Tips for Small Business

Spring cleaning is not only for households. For small business owners, springtime is a reminder to get things in order. From an aesthetic standpoint, cleaning up a messy office not only injects a sense of order that might desperately be needed, it also provides a sense of accomplishment. From an operational standpoint, small business owners can clean up their books from 2013, store receipts, tax returns and other important documents electronically, and close out old inventory to greet the arrival of warm weather.
Clean Up 2013 Receipts
Unfortunately, April 15th, Tax Day, is a rite of spring. As many entrepreneurs are meeting with their accountants during the upcoming weeks, it is important to close out the books on 2013. Make sure you have all the receipts you need for write-offs.  Some of them may be stuck in your pocket or buried under catalogs in your inbox. Now is the time to look for them. You don’t want to be frantically searching for receipts from major purchases on April 14th. It is easier to find things when the pressure is off. You may have forgotten the receipt from the computer you bought last February. Neglecting to do so could cost you thousands of dollars in business expenses that you could have deducted and saved yourself substantial dollars on your tax bill.

10 Spring-Cleaning Tips for Small Business

Organize your office and your processes with these tips.

Spring cleaning your small business requires more than just scrubbing and dusting.

Tackling your to-do list is easier when you have a clean office, uncluttered desk and clear mind. Beyond vacuuming and dusting, here are 10 tasks to add to your spring-cleaning checklist.

1. Evaluate your systems, processes and vendors, and eliminate or streamline things that aren’t working.

2. Create a filing system according to how you think, and get rid of old, unnecessary files.

3. Go digital—scan, save and purge hard copies of files.

4. Clear your desktop of anything you don’t use regularly.

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Whirlpool To Add 400 Jobs In Ohio

March 14, 2014 by

business (3)Although the government shutdown last year delayed some issues in Washington, we cannot postpone the filing of taxes for 2013.  The deadline is still April 15 whether you are filing your taxes or want to file an extension.  The good news for Ohio small business owners is the changes in legislature last year that will give them a tax break for 2014 and for Ohio residents, an increase in jobs announced by Whirlpool Corp. for the next year onward.

Ohio small businesses want online stores to charge sales tax, too

CLEVELAND, Ohio — John Shulan is tired of hearing arguments that requiring buyers to pay sales tax on online purchases is unfair or too complicated. Shulan, president of Shulan’s Fairlawn Jewelers, is one of more than 1,000 small-business owners who have signed a petition urging Congress to require out-of-state sellers to collect the same state and local sales taxes they charge their customers.

“It’s not a new tax; it’s not a tax increase. It’s closing a blatant and growing tax loophole,” Shulan said. “We’re subsidizing Internet businesses by not requiring them to pay sales tax.”

The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider online sales tax proposals, — including the Marketplace Fairness Act the Senate passed last year — at a hearing Wednesday morning in Washington, D.C. Both Ohio senators voted for the MFA.

Shulan and other Ohio businesses say they hope this is the year that Congress updates outdated tax laws that now favor online-only retailers such as Amazon.com and eBay. Current laws do not require retailers who don’t have a store, warehouse or other physical presence in Ohio to collect and remit sales taxes, giving consumers the impression that such purchases are “tax-free.” Although state law requires consumers to keep track of and pay taxes on what they buy online, few people actually do.

Whirlpool To Invest $40M, Add 400 Jobs In Ohio

Appliance maker Whirlpool Corp. is planning on making a major announcement later today for its plant in Greenville, Ohio, according to Dave Elliott, general manager of Whirlpool’s KitchenAid small appliances business, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Employment at the plant is expected to rise from 1,000 to 1,400 by 2018.

The plant currently makes KitchenAid mixers and other small kitchen appliances, and Elliott said the investment is in response to more demand for those types of high-end cooking gadgets. The company’s chief executive, Jeff Fettig, said that growth of small appliances has grown 10 to 15 percent annual in recent years, and that the Greenville plant has simply run out of capacity.

Whirlpool is expected to hold a press conference later today to announce the news, with Greenville Mayor Mike Bowers and Ken Hossler, plant leader, on hand to celebrate the investment. Gov. John Kasich was expected to attend as well.

The company has a complicated history with U.S. manufacturing. In 2009, the company shuttered its Evansville, Ind. plant and cut 1,100 employees to move production of refrigerators with freezers on top to a location in Mexico, where they were cheaper to produce. The move shocked and disappointed many, who felt as if buying a Whirlpool appliance was a safe bet in ensuring they were buying a “Made in America” product. And in 2011, the company announced the cut of 1,200 salaried positions, and the closure, of its Fort Smith, Ark., plant.

Kasich cabinet touts tax cut, other business-friendly changes

While Gov. John Kasich signed the small-business tax cut into law in June, it is affecting people now, Ohio Tax Commissioner Joe Testa said Monday.

With tax season in full swing, small-business owners are seeing results in their pocketbooks of a 50 percent tax cut on the first $250,000 of Ohio net business income. That means if a small business owner earns $100,000 in net income, he is taxed only on $50,000

Testa and other representatives of state agencies spoke at a “Cutting Taxes and Growing Ohio Small Business” event Monday at Veterans Memorial Civic Center. The session was held jointly with Lima Rotary Club and Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce. Cabinet level directors are traveling the state talking about the small-business tax cut and other policies and programs to help small businesses.

The tax cut is helpful, Testa said, because most small-business owners report their business income through their personal income tax. In addition to the small business cut, the state is also cutting individual income tax 10 percent for all income tax payers.

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Tax Cuts For Small Business Owners

February 25, 2014 by

business (6)As a small business owner is always nice for you and your wallet to hear that you won’t be paying as much in income tax for 2013 as you did the previous year.  Under the measured passed by the Ohio Legislature last year, small business owners can deduct half of their business income up to $250,000 this year.  That is significant if you considered the amount saved in taxes can be used to invest in the business, or buy machinery that needed to be replaced.

To read more about this follow the links.

Small Businesses Sort Out Affordable Care Act Details

Small businesses around Ohio are struggling to sort out the details of the Affordable Care Act.

As Lewis Wallace reports from Ohio Public Radio  station WYSO, it’s unclear whether recent delays in the law help or hurt the confusion.

The big Obamacare question for small employers is this: am I required to provide health insurance to my employees or not?

Paul: And that question is sort of like that underwear commercial: boxers, briefs, depends…

That’s Paul Tambe with BW Employee Benefits speaking to Dayton-area small business owners.

And yes, it does depend. Here’s the basic rule: companies with less than 50 full-time employees are exempt.

Companies with 50 or more—need to provide health coverage for their full-timers or pay fines.

Medina residents explain what they want to hear from Governor Kasich at State of State speech

MEDINA, Ohio – Business owner Amy Douglass came up with a quick list of topics that she hopes Governor John Kasich addresses during his State of the State address Monday night at the Performing Arts Center in Medina.

Douglass, who owns The Interior Design Studio and JK Gift Shop, said she would like Kasich to create a statewide initiative to encourage people to shop at local stores.

“It’s very difficult competing against the big box stores, number one, and there are so many small businesses in small towns around Ohio,” Douglass said.

Another concern she would like discussed is the high cost of healthcare, something she has never been able to provide in 13 years as a small business owner.

Douglass only has four employees and they depend on their husbands for health benefits.

“We just can’t afford to offer it and it’s very important to be able to offer something like that to families.”

Why small businesses won’t pay Ohio’s tax collectors as much this year

With tax season in full swing, small businesses will receive a significant tax cut for income they earned in 2013 under a measure passed by the Ohio Legislature last year.

Those who file their business income on their individual income tax form – a vast majority of Ohio businesses – can deduct half of their business income up to $250,000.

That means if a business owner earns $250,000 in adjusted gross income, he or she can exclude the first $125,000 from their tax return. The exclusion is available to each investor or owner in a business, said Ohio Tax Commissioner Joe Testa.

The cut, a part of Gov. John Kasich’s effort to slice income tax rates, is expected to be worth $1.6 billion to Ohio small businesses.

“It’s pretty significant,” Testa said. “This gives them the opportunity to have more revenue they can put back into their businesses, to grow their businesses by purchasing additional equipment or marketing their products or maybe even adding a full-time person when they only had a part-time person.”

Small business owners earning income at the top marginal tax rate – 5.33 percent – could expect to see a $6,000 benefit, said Ohio Development Services Director David Goodman.

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Small Business Outlook For 2014

February 12, 2014 by

business (3)For a few months now we have read in the news that small business owners’ confidence in their business is good, and the outlook for an improved economy is embraced by many businesses across the nation. Some changes in taxes that small business owners could claimed  have expired last year, but still their outlook is optimistic. According to recent surveys conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in conjunction with The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that many of the small business owners in NJ,NY, PHI and neighboring states claimed they are more confident  in finding credit for their small business and plan to hire within the next six months.

Read more about this topic by following the links below.

Some good news for small contractors in 2014

Federal contractors entered 2014 having witnessed the failure of Congress to implement comprehensive procurement legislation. But lots of large and small tweaks found their way into the system — and small businesses might be among the benefactors.

Many of these developments center on small business contracting. In 2014, contractors can expect increased governmental emphasis on small business size rules. Plus, major procurement reform may have eluded Congress, but one big change that did occur opens up new business opportunities for small companies.

That change occurred deep in the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act. Section 1609, one of the shorter sections, updates the rules for how large prime contractors are able to meet their small business subcontracting goals.

The NDAA in effect rewrites rules originally derived under the Small Business Act designed to boost participation in federal contracts by small, disadvantaged, woman-owned, and veteran-owned businesses, as well as those located in designated highly-underutilized business zones.

Small business confidence rising in 2014

More small business owners are planning to add jobs and boost pay this year, according to the most recent Business Confidence Survey released by Insperity Inc.

Half of the respondents said they plan to add employees this year, up from just 26 percent in October, while only 3 percent say they expect more layoffs. Compensation metrics climbed as well with average compensation for the fourth quarter of 2013 up 2.9 percent from the year before among the 5,500 small- and medium-sized clients with Insperity.

“The small business community is taking a more positive approach to 2014 business plans according to our Business Confidence Survey responses and internal data,” says Paul J. Sarvadi, Insperity chairman and CEO. “Business owners and managers seem willing to hire more employees, increase wages and gear up for improved sales in spite of challenges like an uncertain economy and the Affordable Care Act.”

Another ObamaCare Delay for Some Small Businesses

Small-business owners got a bit of reprieve from the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service Monday, as the employer responsibility provision of the Affordable Care Act saw yet another delay.

Businesses with between 50 and 99 employees will not have to comply with the employer mandate portion of President Obama’s signature legislation until 2016. The law requires every business with at least 50 or more full-time workers to offer them approved coverage or face a penalty of $2,000 per worker per year for failing to comply. For companies with 100 or more full-timers, this mandate kicks in in 2015.

The government says it is delaying the move to “streamline” tax reporting requirements for  businesses. The departments said in a release that the delay will impact only about 2% of employers nationally. In 2011, there were 7,876,979 small businesses that fell into this category, according to the Small Business Administration.

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Financial News For The Small Business Owner

February 6, 2014 by

business (5)According to the ADP National Employment Reports small business created 78,000 jobs in January. The highest employment contribution among small businesses was from businesses with less than 20 employees and that accounted for 56% of the employment contribution growth. Analysts as well as small business entrepreneurs are eager to begin the New Year with great news about the economy.  Follow the links to read more about financial news and Obamacare.

What small business owners should know about the new Obamacare report

Despite some media reports, the health care law isn’t killing 2.5 million jobs.

Congressional budget analysts on Tuesday released revised estimates concerning the economic footprint of the health care law, spawning another round of headlines declaring that Obamacare will take a massive bite out of workers’ hours and eliminate millions of jobs.

Thing is, that’s not what the report said at all. In fact, the nonpartisan group’s predictions actually refute some of the warnings from small business leaders — namely, that the law will force employers to trim hours for their current workers and think twice about hiring new ones.

Still, there are some other areas of the law that the group says may indeed have unwanted side effects for companies.

Bank of America boosts small business lending as it hires even more bankers

Bank of America said Tuesday that it made almost $11 billion in new loans to U.S. small businesses in 2013. The bank also plans to hire 200 small business bankers this year, many on the West Coast.

The bank’s pace of small business lending last year was up 26 percent over 2012. California’s largest bank has seen small business loan originations rise every month on a year-over-year basis for the past three years. That may reflect the bank’s initiative to hire 1,000 small business bankers that began in late 2010.

Emily Shanks, BofA’s small business banking region executive for the West, based in Concord, told the San Francisco Business Times in May 2012 that the hiring, which included 31 small business bankers in the Bay Area up to that point, allowed for more face-to-face meetings between bankers and small business owners at their place of business.

When counting both new and renewing financing, BofA’s small business lending exceeds $22 billion.

GroupMe Founder Gets $3.4M to Make Small Business Loans More Accessible With Fundera

In the past five years, the number of bank loans under $1 million has dropped by more than 20 percent. This puts small business owners, arguably the driving force of our economy, at a severe disadvantage when it comes to starting a business.

But Jared Hecht, co-founder of startup success story GroupMe, alongside cofounders Rohan Deshpande and Andres Moran, is today launching a totally new service called Fundera, built specifically to facilitate small business funding through alternative lending.

Fundera has received a total of $3.4 million in funding from Khosla, First Round Capital, Lerer Ventures, SV Angel, and various angel investors including Strauss Zelnick, Rob Wiesenthal, David Rosenblatt, and David Tisch.

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Akron Ohio Business News

January 21, 2014 by

business (2)The distractions a person doing business from home are innumerable. Not only that, but the tediousness of waking up every morning to go to your office across the hall can be a bit boring. In my opinion, it is way better than fighting traffic and the cold to go to an office downtown.  But, if you are really anxious to escape the home and all the distractions involved, read the article below for some inspiration and to follow more news affecting Ohio.

Akron General back on the prowl

Akron General Health System remains one of the few independent health systems in Northeast Ohio. That was poised to change when Cleveland Clinic and Community Health Systems, a for-profit health care juggernaut out of Tennessee, announced in August they would acquire the health system through a new joint venture.

That deal has seemingly fallen apart, at least for now, and Akron General is on the hunt for new suitors.

It’s possible Catholic Health Partners, the Cincinnati-based health system that through a subsidiary purchased a minority stake in Summa Health System, could make a play for Akron General. Such a deal would make CHP an immediate, big-time player in Northeast Ohio, especially with its recent acquisition of Kaiser Permanente’s Ohio operations. That said, I’m not sure how Summa — Akron General’s larger and much more solvent — competitor would react to the news.

Akron business offers space to work that’s not the coffee shop

The cats, the laundry and other distractions. Not to mention, “the mundane feeling of being in the same place for so long.”

That’s what drove Torrie Fischer to seek out an alternative to working from home.

She’s among a growing number of folks across the country turning to shared work space.

Fischer, a software engineer, landed at Office Space Coworking, or OSC, in downtown Akron. OSC is housed on the ground floor of the historic Everett Building at Main and Market streets.

“This is out of the house and there’s food [eateries] nearby. It’s got a collaborative atmosphere — it’s starting to,” said Fischer, whose job with an international company allows her to work from anywhere.

The new owner of Office Space Coworking, Nick Petroski, encourages that sharing of ideas and is stressing that his operation offers a lot more than space, free Wi-Fi, parking and coffee.

“With Office Space Coworking, you get access to a community,” Petroski said. “You can get access to the person sitting right next to you. You can get feedback on an idea.”

To build that community, Petroski, 28, has begun sponsoring educational, as well as social events.

Tressel isn’t at Akron to be ‘an ornament’

Former Ohio State football coach has had his influence with Zips expand significantly.

If the last 24 months have proven anything about Jim Tressel, it’s that he’s no ornament.

Two years ago next month, Mr. Tressel joined the University of Akron in what was then a largely undefined administrative role — one that carried the weighty title of vice president for strategic engagement. The controversial hiring came less than a year after the Northeast Ohio native resigned as Ohio State University’s head football coach in the wake of a scandal involving a group of his players and his failure to report violations to the NCAA.

“There might have been some skepticism when I came to work here,” Mr. Tressel said in an interview last Tuesday, Jan. 7, with Crain’s. “People thought, “He’s going to come here and kind of be an ornament and go out to lunch occasionally and ask someone for money.’ I understand why people might have thought that.”

 

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Ohio Increases The Minimun Wage

January 15, 2014 by

business (7)For many people that work for minimum wage, the news that Ohio is increasing the minimum wage to $7.95 per hour is good news. The 10-cent increase is not a terrible burden to small business and definitely can be conceive as a small increase which will eventually help the local economies. For the most recent news affecting Ohio small businesses follow the links below to read the articles in their entirety

Small businesses wary of large minimum-wage increase

On Wednesday, Ohio’s minimum wage will be increased by 10 cents per hour to a rate of $7.95 per hour, impacting an estimated 330,000 workers in the state.

Tipped Ohio workers will see a 5-cent increase in their minimum wage, going up to $3.98 per hour. This increase comes as a result of a 2006 vote requiring annual adjustments to the minimum wage to keep pace with the rising cost of living.

Certain groups, such as Policy Matters Ohio, a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research institute, applaud the change, maintaining that an increased minimum wage will spur consumer spending and economic growth by as much as $38 million.

“Ohio workers and the Ohio economy will both benefit from this raise for our lowest-paid neighbors,” Amy Hanauer, executive director for Policy Matters Ohio, said in a statement. “The employees who benefit will turn around and spend money in our communities, stimulating growth here.”

Internet cafe law now in effect, takes toll on Ohio businesses

Disconnected phone lines and shells of buildings are all that remain of many Ohio sweepstakes businesses three months after a law effectively banning their existence took effect.

The law, which went into place Oct. 4, limited Internet cafe prizes to items valued at less than $10 and gave law enforcement officials the authority to prosecute businesses as illegal gambling operations if they do not comply. A last-ditch effort to delay the law and place the decision before voters fell about 71,000 signatures short of the 231,000 needed to make the ballot.

The only signs of the former Starz Internet Cafe in Heath, for example, are multicolored carpeting and remnants of window clings advertising Internet cards. Large “for lease” signs are visible from the road.

One challenge to counting how many Internet cafes are still operating in Ohio is that it wasn’t clear how many were doing business in the first place. The best estimates placed the number at 620 before the law took effect. Of those, 339 registered with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office earlier this year.

Skimpy Obamacare plans leave some ‘underinsured‘

For working people making modest wages and struggling with high medical bills from chronic disease, President Barack Obama’s health care plan sounds like long-awaited relief. But the promise could go unfulfilled.

It’s true that patients with cancer and difficult conditions such as multiple sclerosis or Crohn’s disease will be able to get insurance and financial help with monthly premiums.

But their annual out-of-pocket costs could still be so high they’ll have trouble staying out of debt.

You couldn’t call them uninsured any longer. You might say they’re “underinsured.”

These gaps “need to be addressed in order to fulfill the intention of the Affordable Care Act,” said Brian Rosen, a senior vice president of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. “There are certainly challenges for cancer patients.”

“Cost may still be an issue for those in need of the most care,” said Steven Weiss, spokesman for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. That “makes it critically important for patients looking at premiums to also consider out-of-pocket costs when choosing a plan.”

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New Government Contracts Land In Ohio

December 12, 2013 by

business (6)The economy seems to show signs of recovery some analysts suggest but, others are not as optimistic as they are, and yesterday the Dow Jones fell nearly 130 points, along with S&P and Nasdaq which lost more than 1% each.

Certainly the economy shows its ups and downs and the stock market as well, and  although the Akron area has seen the loss of hundreds of jobs, other parts of Ohio are getting government contracts that should help the local economy. Below are two articles concerning the Ohio economy and one about small business news. Follow the links to read more about them.

Ohio company lands VA small business program work

After abruptly ending a three-year contract, the Department of Veterans Affairs awarded two task orders to meet the requirements of its veteran-owned small business program.

Despite the quick contract transition, verification of service-disabled, veteran owned small businesses didn’t miss a beat, the program’s chief told me.

As I reported Nov. 27, the VA allowed a contract with Alexandria-based Ardelle Associates to end Dec. 2 without an alternative in place for processing and verifying contractor applications, which in turn would allow them to be able to compete for work set aside by the VA.

The agency kicked off a competition during the Thanksgiving holiday and has apparently decided on this approach: split the work into two.

Both task orders were awarded to Monterey Consultants Inc. of Dayton, Ohio — one providing support for the Office of Small And Disadvantaged Business Utilization, and the other VA’s Center for Veterans Enterprise. The latter includes the application processing. The two task ordes were worth $1.08 million and $2.26 million respectively.

Business news briefs: Giant Eagle acquires Cleveland pharmacy company

O’Hara-based Giant Eagle Inc. has acquired Cleveland-based Rx21 Specialty Pharmacy, which specializes in medications used for complex treatment regimens for cancer, hepatitis C, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis, among others. With the acquisition, Giant Eagle officials say pharmacy customers receiving these treatments now have 24-hour access to a pharmacist for consultations. Terms of the deal were not released.

CBIZ Small Business Employment Index Rises

The CBIZ Small Business Employment Index (SBEI), a barometer for hiring trends that surveys data from 3,500 companies with 300 or fewer employees, increased by .52 percent during November following a decrease of .42 percent during October.

Wednesday’s ADP’s November survey revealed that the private sector added 215,000 jobs during the month, which is the strongest job growth reported this year. In addition, October’s revised tally is 184,000 jobs created, after 130,000 new jobs were reported initially.

“Approaching the holiday shopping season with optimism, we know that retailers spent the month stocking shelves. A small increase in the SBEI seems to indicate that, by and large, smaller retail shops performed those tasks with only minimal hiring. Although the reading was less than what we had hoped for, it was better than three of the last four November reports,” shares Philip Noftsinger, business unit president for CBIZ Payroll Services. “There are mixed economic signals in the numbers right now, but most retailers seemed to be optimistic about this holiday season,” he continues.

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