Today I received my digital Architect magazine and while I was reviewing it, one story hit me like a ton of bricks. It is no secret; I own a recruiting/staffing agency, not an architectural firm. What so surprised me about the story was that it hit me where I live, MY small recruiting business.
The article is about how the AIA, with other groups I am sure, was able to lobby Congress and change a bill that would have had detrimental tax implication for small business of all sorts.
At the heart of the issue was H.R. 4213, the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act. Now, not to risk losing you back to Facebook I will paraphrase. Basically Congress was planning to pay for the unemployment extension by taxing “S” Corporations, the common legal structure of small businesses, who have three of fewer partners. What the new legislation would do is tax income, all income, as payroll tax, regardless of how the money was uses after received.
With an efficient, focused and strategic two part lobby campaign, the AIA (again, with others I am sure) was able to remove the “S” Corporation language out of the law.
If you would like more information, Architect magazine has created a great flow chart. You can see it here.
The reason this hits home for me is that I also have set up my firm as an “S” Corp. I had no idea this bill was introduced or the risk it posed to my firm. I am also happy to know groups like the AIA are looking after small firms as we go about the day to day of growing our companies.
This post is a “thank you” for the efforts of the AIA. It is nice to know they are taking care of small firms when we can’t.
