Ratte Law Office

Tax Problems? IRS Dispute?

Chris_Ratte — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:17:07 +0000

Having tax problems or a dispute with the IRS? Then you should make the time to attend this upcoming presentation.

On Tuesday, February 2nd, Dr. Richard Spead of Spead Tax Group will be speaking about how to handle disputes with the IRS. In light of the IRS’s aggressive campaign against small business owners in the past year, this should be a timely and informative presentation.

The presentation is sponsored by BASE Resources. Prior speakers in the series have included yours truly and other experts in the business, financial and tax worlds.

Here’s the info:

Tax Issues & IRS Disputes

Guest speaker: Dr. Richard Spead of Spead Tax Group PLLC.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Great Bay Community College

Pease International Tradeport

320 Corporate Dr, Portsmouth, NH

Room 314. Enter at Business and Training entrance.

Cost $10. 8 am – 9 am. Registration at 7:45 am.

Session runs from 8am-9am. Registration at 7:45 am.

Coffee and muffins provided.

Please RSVP to Diane DeVries 603-534-2040 or diane@digrafika.com

Presented by BASE Resources – The premier source for business solutions

www.base-resources.com

NH Bizcast for Free Business Webinars

Chris_Ratte — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:17:28 +0000

The Business Resource Center of the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development has announced its 2010 Bizcast series. NH Bizcast is a free monthly webcast on a topic of interest to small business owners. The webcasts will be presented by local experts in the field, and will allow the participants to ask questions of the presenters.

Upcoming webcasts are listed below. NH Bizcast can be found at http://www.nheconomy.com/videos.aspx

Starting a Business in a Down Economy

January 20, 2010: Noon-1PM

Presented by Deb Osgood, Knowledge Institute

New Mediums, New Messages – How Social Media is Transforming Communication.

February 17, 2010: Noon-1PM

Presented by Allen Voivod, Epiphanies, Inc.

Best Business Practices for the Next Century.

March 17, 2010: Noon-1PM

Presented by Dr. Russ Ouellette, Sojourn Partners

NH Limits Interest Rates for Title Loan and Payday Loan Companies

admin — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:58:29 +0000

Payday Loan companies are now prohibited from charging excessive interest rates to consumers.

Legislation, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2009, will most likely put the payday loan industry out of business in New Hampshire. HB-267 limits the annual percentage rate on a payday and title loans to no more than 36 percent per year.

Payday loans are short term loans (usually a week or two) of $300 to $500, secured with a pay stub and paid back with a flat fee that translates to an annual interest rate in the hundreds. Title loans require the borrower’s car as collateral.

Lawmakers found that the rates of interest charged by many title loan lenders and payday lenders are unreasonable and predatory. Some Title loan lenders charge rates of up to 350%, and payday lenders were charging up to 1,000%.

Supporters said that payday lenders target vulnerable people and make it difficult for them to climb out of debt because the interest rates are so high that borrowers have to take out a second loan to pay off the first one.

The Act also prohibits lenders from giving payday or title loans to any borrower who has had such a loan in the previous 60 days.

For more information, contact Attorney Chris Ratté.

NOTICE: The information and articles posted on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended as legal advice. Contact me to discuss your particular situation or consult a licensed attorney in your state.

NH Retailers Not Required to Enforce Sales or Use Tax Collection for States Outside NH

admin — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:52:06 +0000

NH Says No to Mass. Sales and Use Tax

When the State of Massachusetts attempted to collect sales and use tax from a NH retailer for purchases within NH, the Governor and Legislature acted quickly to put a stop to it.

In response to this claim by Mass. against Town Faire Tire, NH enacted SB-5 prohibiting retailers from disclosing private customer information to foreign states in connection with the collection of certain sales and use taxes.

Gov. John Lynch called the Mass. claim “outrageous” and “unacceptable.”

“We should not allow Massachusetts to turn New Hampshire businesses into tax agents for Massachusetts.” – Gov. John Lynch

The Act creates an irrebutable presumption that, in the absence of voluntary information by the customer, the goods or services purchased in NH are intended to be used in NH.

To impose sales or use tax on purchases within NH, the foreign state must have previously provided written proof to the retailer that its tax laws meet with the very stringent requirements of the new Act. That is unlikely.

Gov. Lynch has vowed to appeal the Town Faire Tire case to Federal Court if necessary to protect NH’s favorable tax structure and pro-business environment.

For more information, contact Attorney Chris Ratté.

Monthly Reading for December: Guerrilla Marketing 4th Ed.

Chris_Ratte — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:55:54 +0000

Marketing for Small Businesses

December is a great time to finalize your marketing plan for the coming new year. If you need to re-think your marketing strategy, then Jay Conrad Levinson may be able to help.

Guerrilla Marketing, 4th edition: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your SmallBusiness has been a favorite resource of countless small business owners for more than 25 years. The new edition has been updated to include Internet marketing, podcasts and other high-tech marketing tools.

FAILING TO PLAN IS A PLAN FOR FAILURE: How to build a better business from the ground up.

NH Enacts WARN Act in Response to Recent Mass Layoffs and Plant Closures

admin — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:47:57 +0000

NH Workers will receive more advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closures than required by federal law.

In response to some highly publicized and very sudden plant closures and mass layoffs that have plagued NH lately, the legislature enacted the NH Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (NH WARN).

SB-40 is based on the Federal WARN Act, but increases the number of employers who are subject to the Act and substantially increases the penalties for employers who do not comply with the notice requirements in the Act.

Both WARN Acts require 60 day notice to employees of any plant closure or mass layoffs subject to the Act, but NH has lowered the required number of affected employees from 50 employees being laid off to 25 (provided it is at least 1/3 of the full-time non-seasonal employees).

NH has also increased the number of employers subject to the Act by lowering the threshold from employers with at least 100 employees to 75. The NH WARN Act is estimated to affect some 300 more employers than the Federal Act.

An employer who fails to give notice of a mass layoff or plant closing, as required by this law, can be assessed a civil penalty of up to $2,500 and up to $100 per employee for each day of noncompliance, plus costs and attorneys fees. In addition, the NH Department of Labor is also permitted to place a lien on the employer’s revenues as well as all real and personal property of the employer to pay these assessments.

There are some narrow exceptions to the Act, most notably, a faltering employer who was actively seeking capital to avoid such layoffs and in good faith believed that notice of layoffs would preclude that capital investment.

For more information, contact Attorney Chris Ratté.

NH Auto Dealer Bill of Rights Expanded in Wake of Auto Industry Shake-Up

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:42:20 +0000

New legislation helps local auto dealers survive the auto industry collapse.

Like all states, NH has an Auto Dealer Bill of Rights (DBR) to protect local franchise auto dealers from unfair trade practices by their manufacturers.

After the auto industry’s recent implosion, which caused the closure of at least 14 auto dealers in NH, the Legislature decided it was time to update NH’s DBR.

SB-153 makes sweeping changes to the DBR to protect dealers in these turbulent economic times.

Among other changes, the Bill prohibits unfair contractual clauses by manufacturers, including forcing dealers to spend thousands to millions of dollars to obtain a new vehicle model, forcing dealers to order unwanted inventory just to obtain a popular vehicle model, forcing dealers into pre-dispute binding arbitration or into waiving jury trials, charging NH dealers different prices for the same vehicles or using incentive programs that result in a price difference.

The Bill also requires manufacturers to repurchase certain items, such as parts and vehicles, when the factory closes its doors or ends production of a line make, and not just when the dealer’s franchise is terminated as in the past.

For more information, contact Attorney Chris Ratté.

NH Creates HealthFirst as an Affordable Wellness-Based Health Insurance Plan for Small Business

admin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:36:06 +0000

HealthFirst Plans for small business began on October 1, 2009.

In these tough economic times, many small businesses are facing decisions about severely limiting health insurance coverage, or dropping coverage all together.

Recognizing that small businesses are the backbone of NH’s economy, and therefore a critical link in our health care system, NH enacted HealthFirst, an affordable, wellness-based health insurance plan for small employers.

“We set out to give small businesses and their workers a more affordable health care choice.” – Gov. John Lynch

HealthFirst is aimed to be comparable to the most popular, comprehensive health insurance plans for small businesses with an average 15 to 20 percent lower cost. The target rates are to be no more than 10% of the median income in the prior year, but will be rated based on risk like other health insurance rates.

In addition to providing a lower-cost alternative for small businesses of 50 or fewer employers, HealthFirst also focuses on keeping people healthy, which will help reduce the state’s overall health care costs. The plan calls for annual financial incentives for enrollees to quit smoking, maintain a healthy weight and participate in health management plans for chronic illnesses.

Starting Oct. 1, 2009, Anthem, Cigna, Harvard Pilgrim and MVP began offering NH HealthFirst Plans for small employers.

For more information, contact Attorney Chris Ratté.

Lower Your NH Property Taxes with an Abatement

admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:03:13 +0000

A tax abatement may save you money on property taxes.

If you are like most people, you probably think you are paying too much in property taxes. In some cases, you may be right.

Property taxes in New Hampshire are based on the assessed value of your real estate as of April 1st of each year. If your assessment is incorrect, then you may in fact be paying more than your share of property taxes.

An assessment may be incorrect due to a number of reasons, such as the information used by the assessor may have been incorrect (i.e. you actually have 3 bedrooms instead of 4), or the assessment is substantially higher than the equalized market value of the property. The market value of real estate may be determined by having the property appraised by a licensed appraiser or by comparing it with local comparable properties which have sold recently.

To change the assessment of your property, you must file a request for an abatement with your city or town by March 1st (in most locations). If the municipality denies the abatement request or fails to respond by July 1st, which is the same as a denial, then you have until September 1st to file an appeal with the Superior Court or the Board of Land and Tax Appeals. To win the appeal, you must prove through appraisals or other evidence that your taxes are unfair, illegal or disproportionately high.

You must continue paying your property taxes during the abatement process, but if the abatement is granted then you will receive a tax refund plus 6% interest. In addition, the new lower assessment amount will then continue for future tax years until there is a good faith reason to reassess the property (such as changes to the property or a town-wide reassessment).

For more information on how a tax abatement can save you money on property taxes, please contact Attorney Chris Ratté.

How NH’s Same-Sex Marriage Law Will Affect Your Business

admin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:24:33 +0000

NH employers must provide state mandated spousal benefits for same-sex couples.

NH recently became the 6th state in the U.S. (5th in New England) to enact a same-sex marriage law. Although NH has had civil unions since 2007, the amended law does away with the civil union concept and defines marriage as “the legally recognized union of 2 people… regardless of gender.”

Civil unions will be fazed out on Jan. 1, 2011, and at that time automatically be converted to marriages.

If your business made changes to its HR policies to comply with the civil union law, then not much will change for you.

Both the civil union law and the gay marriage law provide to same-sex unions all the same rights and benefits provided to married couples under state law. These benefits include such things as workers compensation and bereavement leave.

Federally created rights, however, are a different story.

The federal Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 (DOMA), prohibited the extension of any federal benefits allowed to married couples to same-sex couples. Because of this, the passing of gay marriage in NH will not change any employer requirements under federal law for same-sex spouses, such as requirements of federal tax laws, ERISA, COBRA, the Family and Medical Leave Act, or social security benefits.

DOMA also permits other states to decline to recognize NH’s same-sex marriages.

After signing the Bill, Gov. Lynch expressed support for changing the federal marriage law to allow gay marriages.

NH’s law against discrimination, RSA 354-A, prohibits discrimination in employment because of someone’s sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation. Sexual orientation was added to the Act in 1998.

For more information, contact Attorney Chris Ratté.