by eclewis | Mar 11, 2015 | Business News
Occupational Privilege Taxes
Occupational Privilege Taxes in Colorado are essentially a “head tax” that is levied on most workers within jurisdictions that have the tax. Simply put, this means that every employee that falls under the requirements in the jurisdiction has to pay it, and there is typically an employer match of this tax. The tax is levied on a city and/or county basis of where you work, even if the business is located outside of the jurisdiction. This can get complicated if a business is located in Glendale but the employee works in a satellite office or from their home located in Denver. In a situation like this, the employee should not have to pay the Glendale tax, but likely would have to pay the Denver tax.
Here is a breakdown of where the tax is levied, the amount of the tax (per month) for employees and employers, and the minimum amount you must earn in a month for the tax to be levied on you.
| City |
Tax for Employees |
Tax for Employers |
Income Threshold |
| Denver |
$5.75 |
$4.00 |
$500 |
| Glendale |
$5.00 |
$5.00 |
$750 |
| Aurora |
$2.00 |
$3.00 |
$250 |
Keep in mind that this is just the basic applicability of the tax and there can be more unique circumstances that can have an impact on your business and employees’ tax liability.
For example, if you have one job but work in more than one jurisdiction that has an Occupational Privilege Tax, generally, you would only pay the tax for the jurisdiction that you spend the majority of your time working in. Employees with multiple jobs in the same jurisdiction usually only have to pay the tax once and can fill out a form to be sure it is not withheld by their second job. Those who are self-employed may only have to pay the employer side of the tax, but it depends on the situation and jurisdiction.
In many cases, businesses without any employees are still required to pay the employer portion of the tax. Owners of a business may also be required for at least the employer portion of the tax, even if they are not paid. As you can see, there are a variety of circumstances that can complicate how the Occupational privilege applies to your business, so be sure that you seek out good advice about it.
If you have questions about legal matters for your business, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, PC, home of your Denver Business Attorney, Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or email her at elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.
by eclewis | Feb 11, 2015 | Business News
As a way of celebrating Valentine’s Day in the small-business context, this post will focus on small business and loving it! That being said, a recent study found that adults who “feel younger” than their actual age lived longer. What does that mean to feel younger? It’s all about enthusiasm, excitement, and a generally positive outlook. The same kind of feelings as when you are in love! Owning your own business is an exciting opportunity that will no doubt spark that youthful enthusiasm, but even if your business has been around for a while, it is important to keep that love alive. Doing so may not only help keep your business around longer, but it may also keep you feeling younger.
Think about this. People that are working for themselves or even for small businesses generally take a lot of pride in the work that they do, and that is because they can directly see the results of their hard work. They get a chance to see their satisfied customers and are able to feel like they are a meaningful part of the company. Many who work for large companies miss out on this same satisfaction. Small business owners or their employees get more variety and flexibility with their daily work, which can help keep you interested and excited about what you are doing and loving what you do.
A survey found that people who own or start their own businesses are happy with what they do and want to keep doing it. One study showed that newly-minted MBAs are happier starting their own company or working for small business than their big corporate counterparts. Another survey found that entrepreneurs are among the happiest people in the world.
Sure, starting a business and keeping it going can be very challenging but keep thinking about these exciting positives to small business and you will start to love your business even more, which will no doubt bring benefits to you and your employees in both their careers and personal lives.
If the business you love is in need of some legal assistance, or if you are ready to start your own, do not hesitate to reach out to the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, PC, home of your Denver Business Attorney, Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or email her at elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.
by eclewis | Dec 22, 2014 | Business News
A recent audit of Denver’s program, the Minority/Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE) has shown that it has not been meeting its goals. You can take a look at the complete audit here. The program is operated by the Division of Small Business Opportunity, part of the Office of Economic Development, and it is designed to help get minority and women owned businesses a share of the large number of city and county construction jobs and related work like landscaping, trucking and engineering.
In order to be certified for the M/WBE, at least 51% of the business must be owned by women and minorities. However, the audit brought to light concerns that businesses that should not be eligible to participate in the program are finding ways to game the system and are nevertheless getting certified and receiving work.
The audit found that of the 720 businesses that are certified and part of the M/WBE, only about 70% of them have actually received work from the city, and only 31% are getting repeat work from the city. Additionally, over the course of the program’s 8 year life, only 9 firms have graduated from the program, meaning they are now too large or are making too much money to continue being eligible. In short, Dennis Gallagher, the Denver City & County Auditor, called the program “broken.” The audit found an array of other issues with the program including not only ineffective or inaccurate reporting by the Division, but also a lack of required reporting. For example, the ordinance creating the program requires issuance of quarterly reports, which are not being produced currently. The audit was not all bad news though, as it did find that some certified sub-contractors were not being counted toward the program’s goals.
The Division defended itself in saying that the program has no control over whether the city awards contracts to a participating business or not. Further, the Division is planning to consider the audit’s recommendations to try and improve the program, but this is not the first time the program has been under fire. In 2011, the program was audited criticized. That audit generated 16 recommendations of which only 6 were later implemented. So we will have to wait and see if the program will adopt more recommendations to try and improve itself this time around.
If you have questions about applying to become a minority/women-owned business, contact the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C., home of your Denver Business Lawyer, Elizabeth Lewis, 720-258-6647 or email her at Elizabeth.Lewis@eclewis.com.
by eclewis | Nov 17, 2014 | Online/Social Media Law
For many businesses trying to sort through applicants for an open position at their company, it has become routine to run a Google search of applicants to find out more about them. This can quickly lead to finding their Facebook or other social media account, but did you know that some employers have begun asking for applicants’ Facebook passwords during interviews to look at their activity? In Colorado, you could face serious legal liability for such actions.
Trying to find out as much as you can about an applicant or employee is understandable. For businesses both big and small, nobody wants to waste time, energy, and company resources bringing someone in for an interview that will not be a good fit, but a line must be drawn. Many workers feel their personal privacy is seriously invaded when employers go digging into their personal online accounts.
With these concerns in mind, several states have begun passing laws to combat this practice. In may of last year, Colorado passed C.R.S. § 8-2-127, a so-called “Facebook Law,” which restricts employers’ ability to get social media and other personal online account information from applicants or employees.
While running a Google search and pulling up any publicly available information about an applicant or employee is permissible under this law, employers cannot suggest, request, or require an applicant or employee to disclose means for accessing their personal accounts or services (this includes usernames and passwords). Under this law, you also cannot suggest, request, or require an applicant or employee to change their privacy settings (to make their accounts public for example) or to have them “add” the employer or someone acting on behalf of the employer to their friends list. If an employee or applicant refuses to comply with these kinds of actions from an employer, then it is unlawful to penalize or refuse to hire them because of their refusal.
There are a few exceptions to this law, but aside from allowing the employer to freely view publicly available information, they are pretty narrow. Other exceptions include investigations pertaining to compliance with financial laws and regulations and the unauthorized download of employer proprietary information to a personal web-based account or website.
If you would like to discuss this or other legal concerns related to your employees or the hiring process, be sure to reach out to the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C., home of your Denver Business Lawyer, Elizabeth Lewis, 720-258-6647 or email her at Elizabeth.Lewis@eclewis.com.
by eclewis | Nov 6, 2014 | IP Law
After you have researched whether or not your business name or idea is being used by anyone else, see How to Research Your Business Name and How to Research Your Business Idea, it is important to take measures to protect it appropriately.
If the idea is an invention, or improvement to an existing one, that is useful, novel, non-obvious, adequately described or enabled, and claimed by the inventor in clear and definite terms, then it may be patentable, and you should speak with an attorney right a way to discuss the patent application process. You may also consider applying for a provisional patent, which can protect your idea for the first twelve months and allow you to use the phrase “Patent Pending.”
If the idea is of the artistic or creative variety such as a painting, novel, or movie, then you should sit down with an attorney to discuss whether or not it is protected by copyright and whether or not it is a good idea to have the copyright registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. This is usually a straightforward process that can be done electronically.
If your idea is a name, slogan, symbol, sound, or other identifier for your business or its goods and services, then it may be protectable as a trademark. Trademark protections can exist under common law, state law, or federal law, so you should be sure to discuss what is most appropriate and cost-effective for your business with an attorney. Federal trademarks can be especially difficult and expensive to obtain and keep, so this will require some careful deliberation. You may also need to consider whether or not your business needs to be formed a particular way or if a trade name should be filed in order to help protect the name or aspects of the business idea.
If you are thinking about discussing or pitching your idea to others, you should seriously evaluate whether a Non-Disclosure Agreement or other form of confidentiality protection is suitable. These can help protect you from having your idea copied by those you discuss it with, but it can be a delicate issue to raise in front of friends, family, or potential business partners.
Remember that if you do not protect yourself, you could wind up finding yourself in a lengthy and costly court battle to stop someone from profiting off of your idea, and you still might lose. This business idea could be the livelihood of you and your family, so why risk losing it? Do not let this happen to you.
If you have questions about or need help with protecting your business name or idea, contact the Law Office of E.C. Lewis PC, home of your Denver Business Lawyer, Elizabeth Lewis, 720-258-6647 or email her at Elizabeth.Lewis@eclewis.com.
