Let's turn down the noise and run our businesses
There's more political blather than ever, so let's turn down the volume when the talking heads talk; ignore the tweets and bemused responses; and, for at least a while, do what we enjoy: Manage our businesses.
There are issues that need to be tracked, of course. Last week's column featured a list of four legal issues to watch. This week, there are two additions to the list:
• Illinois has changed its state withholding tax process. Among the changes: Withholding taxpayers must now file quarterly and pay on a monthly or semiweekly schedule.
Form IL-941 has been changed, too.
The information comes from Oak Brook attorney Jim Poznak, The Poznak Law Firm Ltd. Poznak says you can find details at this link: http://tax.illinois.gov/Publications/Bulletins/2017/FY-2017-07.pdf.
• Employers may no longer enter into contracts with employees who earn less than $13 per hour as a way to prevent those employees from working for another employer, including the employer's competitors; or to prevent those employees from working in a specified geographic area, including the geographic area in which the employer derives most of its sales.
The $13 threshold, Poznak notes, will increase if the minimum hourly wage increases to $13 or more.
The changes are part of new state legislation, the Freedom to Work Act.
Most of the noise concerns the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which - if it even exists - almost certainly will be different next year than it is today.
How different ACA will be no one knows. Interestingly, a study by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park, California, says that 75 percent of us either oppose repeal of the ACA (47 percent) or want to hold off repeal until we know what the replacement provisions will be (28 percent).
For all the hand-wringing about increasing health care rates, "The small business market isn't as affected (by rate increases) as the individual market is," says broker Angela Holten, Holten Financial & Insurance Agency, DeKalb.
"Skyrocketing prices are a big problem in the individual market," she says. "We're trying to convert individuals back to the small group market when we can."
Today, even comparing prices can be a challenge. For example, Shirlanne Lemm says that members of the GOA Regional Business Association "are getting the same quotes from all the brokers. You may have the option of lowering the benefit or increasing the deductible, but there's not yet a lot of shopping you can do."
Lemm is president of the GOA, an Itasca-based organization that also provides support for the Itasca and Elk Grove chambers of commerce.
The fact is that the health care insurance market, and the small business role, may not settle out for several months. Larry Grudzien, an Oak Park attorney who specializes in benefit issues, thinks "Trump will have an interesting time" bringing Republicans together on an alternative to ACA.
His best advice? "Sit down with your broker" to stay on top of the issue.
• © 2017 Kendall Communications Inc. Follow Jim Kendall on LinkedIn and Twitter. Write him at Jim@kendallcom.com. Listen to Jim's Business Owners' Pod Talk at www.kendallcom.com/podcast.