by eclewis | Jul 31, 2012 | Business News
Effective June 1, 2012, the City of Aurora instituted a new tax on soft drinks and candy. The tax is 3.75% on all soft drinks (any drinks that contain natural or artificial sweeteners that are less than 50% juice) and candy (preparation of sugar, honey or other sweetener with items such as chocolate, fruit, and nuts that forms bars, drops, or pieces)
Businesses have a one month grace period to change their systems and start collecting the taxes. The first monthly tax return that needs to include software and candy taxes should be filed August 20, 2012 and the first quarterly tax return should be filed by October 20, 2012
Prepared food remains taxable in most cases. So if you have a restaurant, coffee shop, or bar that serves food, you still need to collect taxes on everything you sell.
If you have any questions, please contact me, your Denver Small Business Lawyer, at 720-258-6647, by email at Elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com , or your CPA today!
by eclewis | Jul 26, 2012 | Business News
In addition to the basic startup package offered to small businesses, the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C. is pleased to announce that it has business-specific startup packages for those starting a business in the following fields:
- Basic Startup Package
- Website Developers Package
- Programmers Package
- Wedding Planners Package
- Event Planners Package
- Plumbers Package
- Electricians Package
- Contractors Package
- Social Media Consultant Package
- Ghostwriters Package
- Sales Consultant Package
- IT Consultant Package
- Photographer Package
- E-commerce Site Package
The basic setup package starts at $500.00 with specialized packages ranging from $750.00-$2000.00, if you are looking to start a business in any of these areas, the startup packages have the business documents, contracts, and information that you need to do it – plus one on one consulting with your Denver small business lawyer! You can find out more by calling 720-258-6647 or contact us through the website to get more information.
by eclewis | Jul 14, 2012 | Business News
Like many others, I sat and watched as the inferno enveloped homes and dreams as it waged its way over the west side of Colorado Springs. I had watched Hurricane Katrina several years ago demolish New Orleans. However, as I had stayed with my father frequently when he had worked in Colorado Springs when I was (much) younger and as I have friends there, this disaster struck closer to home.
My heart goes out to those that lost their homes and businesses in the Waldo Canyon fire, the High Park fire, and the other fires that have waged across Colorado the past few months. It made me rethink my personal and business disaster recovery plans. To make sure you are prepared for disaster, please make sure you have done the following:
- Know where you personal and business legal documents are. You need to have easily accessible copies of your company documents (such as setup documents, leases, contracts, bank information, credit card information, and insurance paperwork). You need easily accessible copies of your personal documents (such as marriage certificates, social security numbers, passports, driver’s licenses, bank information, property records, credit card information, birth certificates, and insurance information). If possible, you should make sure there is an easily accessible *secure* electronic copy available in case you cannot grab these documents during a disaster.
- Check your insurance policies and make sure you are properly covered. Do you have business interruption insurance? Do you have adequate property insurance? Do you have inventory lists of your business and home? Make sure you have the right amounts of insurance and the right insurance for your situation before you need it!
- Do you have backups of your information? If you do not have offsite backups of your electronic documents, you need it. Research offsite providers and find out the best option for you. Dropbox, Google, and Amazon all offer offsite backups. If you want a physical offsite backup, there are both banks and private companies that offer offsite storage. A note of caution if you do physical offsite backups – you may want to also have a backup in another state! Hurricane Katrina destroyed a whole city so if you kept a backup in a safety deposit box at your local bank, there is a good chance that the local bank would have been destroyed too!
- Have a personal disaster plan. You need a disaster plan for both your family and your business! Personally, you need to know where you will meet loved ones in case of a disaster. As a child, you probably practiced how to get up to your family’s meet up place in case of a house fire. Have you come up with one as an adult? You need a place in case of a close disaster (i.e. we meet across the street if there is a fire in our house), a local place (i.e. we meet at the Starbucks at Main Street if there is a problem in our neighborhood), and a semi-local place (i.e. we meet at the King Soopers parking lot at CITY if there is a problem in our whole area). You need to keep gas in your car, have food and water, and look at the Red Cross Preparation Guide for Families. Do not assume that water, food, or phones will be available in your area if there is a disaster.
- Have a business disaster plan. On the business side, you need to have your employees and customer information to reach out to in case of a disaster. You need to have a website you can update. You need insurance information at your fingertips. You need to know what you will do if you are closed for a day, a week, a month. If you sell food items and the power is off for 10 hours, should you start giving away food because it is going to go bad? If you provide services and end up in the hospital for a week, do you have a colleague that can provide services to your clients? Do you have business interruption insurance that will pay you if you are closed for a month? Look at the Red Cross Preparation Guide for Businesses for more information.
You can never completely prepare for a disaster. If you could, it would not be called a disaster. However, you can make plans so that if one happens, you will be protected as much as possible.
If you have any questions, please call or email me.
by eclewis | Jul 9, 2012 | Business News, IP Law, Online/Social Media Law
Identifying Internet Scams
Today was a great day – rain was falling in our state which had been dry for weeks. It was the beginning of a great week. We had just celebrated the Fourth of July and I had been on a slight vacation – partially by chance and partially due to health. I was glad to be back to a full work week.
However, my first week back to work was quickly brought down by a phone call. This person alerted me that someone was using my information to sell items through kijiji.com. This person is stating that she is an attorney located in Denver Colorado and must sell items through kijiji (the Canadian version of our Craiglist’s) such as instruments and machinery. The person is saying that the buyer should go through a site called sell2pal and submit all the money in advance and then the items will be shipped to them.
I have never sold on the kijiji website. I have also never sold to anyone in Canada. Needless to say, this made me realize how easy it is to become a victim of identify theft. So, in addition to saying if you are buying large items though kijiji I recommend you don’t if it is through someone saying they are an attorney in Denver named Elizabeth Lewis, I recommend in any case you do the following:
- Never send money up front – especially large sums of money.
- Make sure you know who you are dealing with. If you are going to be making a large purchase, the person should have a name, number, address, and other information that is verifiable.
- If you are making a large purchase and must put money down, have an agreement to go through any escrow agent to hold the funds before delivery of the item.
- Lastly, if a deal seems to good to be true, it probably is.
And, finally, if you get contacted by someone saying they are lizzyhome at gmail.com, run the other way. I’ve never gone by Lizzy and am not selling items in Canada. Use some common sense. Do some research. Call the supposed person you are buying from. And, no, I am not selling anything at this time – especially not to anyone in Canada!
by eclewis | May 6, 2012 | Business News
When deciding whether to be an LLC taxed as a partnership/disregarded entity, an LLC taxed as a s-corporation or a corporation taxed as a s-corporation, many times people think about the liability protection, the formalities required such as yearly meetings, and the rights given to members verses shareholders. In addition, for tax purposes, people weigh the advantages of being taxed as a partnership/disregarded entity verses being able to take dividends as an s-corporation.
However, one area that many times does not come up in discussion is the costs of being an s-corporation in regards to filings. As an LLC taxed as a partnership/disregarded entity (if you do not have employees), then the taxes are usually fairly simple with the member/s of the LLC paying estimated tax payments quarterly (although this can vary).
Once a decision has been made to elect s-corporation status (whether for an LLC or to set up a corporation to be treated as such), tax filings get more complicated. As an s-corporation, all members/shareholders of the company that perform work are now considered employees. Therefore, the IRS will require that the company file Form 941s quarterly and withhold employment taxes either quarterly, or worse, monthly or weekly. The IRS will also expect estimated tax payments from owners who also are taking dividends in addition to wages. In Colorado, you will probably be required to set up a wage withholding account to withhold Colorado taxes. You will also have to pay unemployment insurance on wages paid to owners and file information about this quarterly. You may also have to pay occupational privilege taxes quarterly rather than yearly.
While it may not seem a lot, many times single owner companies find that the costs (whether in time spent by the owner or actual cost incurred from a payroll company) of operating as a s-corporation outweigh (either monetarily or frustration-wise) the savings the owner is seeing on his/her taxes from the s-corporation.
Prior to deciding whether you want to become a s-corporation, schedule an appointment with your CPA or me, your Denver small business lawyer, today at 720-258-6647.
by eclewis | Mar 29, 2012 | Business News
If you are thinking about renting space, here are five things you want to discuss with your business attorney:
- If you are thinking about renting space, discuss when your attorney should get involved. If you do not have an attorney and you are considering space, now is time to get one. Your attorney will let you know when it is appropriate for him or her to get involved. For instance, I usually want to know that my clients are looking for space but get involved more towards the end once they have found a space they are interested in. Typically, especially if they are working with a tenant representative, my clients find the space, and do preliminary talks with landlords. I get involved when the negotiating the lease is taking place and review the lease once it is written. Find out when your attorney wants to get involved – and are you comfortable with the level of involvement.
- If you are thinking about renting space, ask if your attorney knows any good tenant representatives. This is one of the reasons that I prefer my clients speak to me when they are first looking for space. Many times, they do not know the market prices, where to look, or even how to find what is available. Having worked with tenant representatives, I can make sure they are hooked up with someone that can find them the perfect space for a good price.
- If you have found the perfect space, have your lease reviewed. Even if you think you have found the perfect space, there may be clauses in your lease that make that perfect space a lemon. Does the landlord want you to replace the furnace if it goes out and it is 100 years old? Does the lease call for you making $100,000.00 in tenant improvements but you only have the rights to the space for 3 years? An attorney can help see if there are areas that need to be changed.
- If you are moving into a bigger space because you are hiring employees, ask if you need employment documents. Many times the reason someone is looking for a new place is because the business is expanding. If this is the case for you, you may need agreements for anyone that you are looking to hire. Ask your attorney if this applies to you.
- If you think you are paying too much for your space, ask your attorney if she thinks you can negotiate a lower amount. If you are in a lease currently and think you are paying too much, speak with you attorney to see if there is a way to negotiate the price of your lease. There *may* be ways to lower your monthly rent (although there may not).
As always, if you have any questions about renting space, please contact me, your Denver business attorney at 720-258-6647.
