Today's news for the franchise & small biz owner

The United States Senate passed on the Marketplace Fairness Act (S 743) by a vote of 69 to 27, reports DLA  Piper in its US Tax Alert. The bulletin explains: The Act, approved by the Senate on May 6, would permit each state to require vendors from other states to collect sales and use taxes on the state's behalf, from vendor sales of taxable goods and services to state residents.  The House of Representatives is expected to consider the legislation later in the year, but the outlook for the Act’s passage in the House is not clear. The Act’s opponents have cited the tax collection and remittance burden the Act would place on Internet vendors, particularly those vendors located in states that do not currently have a sales tax.  Proponents of the legislation...

The U.S. Senate passed the Internet Tax bill yesterday in a bipartisan vote of 69 to 27. It faces an uncertain future in the House. President Obama has said that he supports it. The bill, having undergone the usual wordsmithing by its backers, is called the Marketplace Fairness Act. While businesses that generate less than $1 million or less in online revenue are exempted, past experience with government shows that this will surely change in the future, possibly quickly. EBay's CEO John Donahoe says the exemption should be extended to less than $10 million in annual out-of-state sales for companies that have fewer than 50 employees. Big businesses Amazon and Best Buy support the bill. Scott Shane, professor of entrepreneurial studies at Case Western Reserve University,...

Franchised restaurant chains are extending their opening hours in hopes that they can scrape in a few more dollars. Reporter Sarah Needleman of the Wall Street Journal asks two experts, who are not unknown to Blue MauMau, is it worth the extra expenses for store owners? Longer hours appeal mostly to "younger folks out and about, and they have cut back so much on restaurants," says Bonnie Riggs, restaurant-industry analyst at research firm NPD Group. "Maybe if you're in some big metropolitan or tourist areas it's worthwhile." Ouch! There's also this problem: The franchisor doesn't feel the pain because its staff at headquarters keep regular office hours, while receiving a few more dollars in royalties from franchised stores. However, the owner-...