Winter Business Fair

CEDO is pleased to join with the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity Micro Business Development Program and the U.S. Small Business Administration to announce the 3rd

Winter Business Fair
Wednesday February 9, 2011
10 am to 3 pm
Contois Auditorium
City Hall
Burlington, Vermont

In addition to exhibitors we are also offering workshops for business owners on several topics including the basics of borrowing money for your business, listening to your business and the benefits of being a green business. The event is open to the public and free to attend. Due to popular demand, the Zero to 60 business open mic, brought to you by the Radiator, and the O-Zone networking space, presented by Office Squared, will be back. Building on these the success of the 2010 Winter Business Fair, brand new this year will be the offering Legal Corner and the Accounting Corner. Sign up at either for a brief, free consultation with a tax or legal professional

Please register your organization and join us as an exhibitor. This year we will be charging a nominal exhibitor fee of $75.00. This money will be used to videotape all of the workshops and some of the main event and edit this content which will be available on DVD. Register and pay by January 19 and pay only $50. Please contact Jon Adams-Kollitz at CEDO to register: jadamskollitz@ci.burlington.vt.us or(802) 865.7187

Set up for vendors starts at 8:30am and some limited vehicle access to Church St. in front of City Hall will be available. Please keep in mind this Church St. access is only available in the morning and you will be on your own for takedown in the afternoon.

This year’s featured workshop is the two hour Greening Your Business featuring Peter Crawford of the Small Business Development Center . Other workshop topics include: business lending, venture capital/angel investing/grants, and Listening to Your Business with the SBDC’s Steve Densham, Dream to Reality with Jodi Whalen of August First (and others)

Please register your organization and join us as an exhibitor. Remember, register and pay by January 19 and pay only $50.


Save the Date!
the Winter Business Fair
Wednesday, February 9th, 201110 AM - 3 PM Burlington City Hall

WBON New Chapter Announcement

WBON is announcing a new chapter in Morrisville!

Diana Sheltra is the coordinator of our newest chapter. The first meeting will be on February 18th from 11:30am to 1:30pm. We will have a networking meeting to discuss goals of the chapter and speaker topics.

The chapter will meet every third Friday from 11:30am-1:30pm. The chapter meetings will be held in the Tegu Building in the center of Morrisville. There will be a catered lunch. Price to be determined upon finalization of the caterer and the menu.

Diana is searching for a WBON member to co-coordinate the chapter. Please contact Diana at diana@doubleentrybookkeeping.net if you are interested.

You are invited to a home made authentic Italian dinner

The Vermont Italian Club presents a homemade authentic pasta dinner!

Make your own dish with your choice of four sauces, salad bar, antipasto plate, homemade cannoli and cookies, raffle, music. Fun for all ages!





Sunday, January 9th from 5-7pm
The Elks Club, 925 North Ave,Burlington

For reservations contact: vermontitalianclub@gmail.com or Audry 922-5005.

For information and tickets via paypal: http://www.vermontitalianclub.org/
$20 Adults
$12 Children ages 5-12
For children under age 5 admission is free
Club members $18 and $10

IRS to Hold Open House

The IRS will host a special nationwide open house from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. local time in 100 offices across the country on Saturday, September 25, to help taxpayers, especially veterans and people with disabilities, solve tax problems and respond to IRS notices.

IRS staff will be available on site or by telephone to help taxpayers work through issues and leave with solutions.

At the September 25 open house, anyone who has a tax question or has received a notice can speak with an IRS employee to get an answer to their question or a clear explanation of what is necessary to satisfy the request. A taxpayer who cannot pay a balance due can find out whether an installment agreement is appropriate and, if so, fill out the paperwork right there. Assistance with offers-in-compromise will also be available. Likewise, a taxpayer struggling to complete a certain IRS form or schedule can work directly with IRS staff.

A listing of the open house locations is available on the IRS website.

Mom fights for a cure to her sons' rare disease in Pepsi Refresh project competition

Mom fights for a cure to her sons' rare disease in Pepsi Refresh project competition

Six Facts about the American Opportunity Tax Credit

There is still time left to take advantage of the American Opportunity Tax Credit, a credit that will help many parents and college students offset the cost of college. This tax credit is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and is available through December 31, 2010. It can be claimed by eligible taxpayers for college expenses paid in 2009 and 2010.

Here are six important facts the IRS wants you to know about the American Opportunity Tax Credit:

1. This credit, which expands and renames the existing Hope Credit, can be claimed for qualified tuition and related expenses that you pay for higher education in 2009 and 2010. Qualified tuition and related expenses include tuition, related fees, books and other required course materials.



2. The credit is equal to 100 percent of the first $2,000 spent per student each year and 25 percent of the next $2,000. Therefore, the full $2,500 credit may be available to a taxpayer who pays $4,000 or more in qualifying expenses for an eligible student.



3. The full credit is generally available to eligible taxpayers who make less than $80,000 or $160,000 for married couples filing a joint return. The credit is gradually reduced, however, for taxpayers with incomes above these levels.



4. Forty percent of the credit is refundable, so even those who owe no tax can get up to $1,000 of the credit for each eligible student as cash back.



5. The credit can be claimed for qualified expenses paid for any of the first four years of post-secondary education.



6. You cannot claim the tuition and fees tax deduction in the same year that you claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit. You must choose to either take the credit or the deduction and should consider which is more beneficial for you.

Employee vs.Independent Contractor Tips for Business Owners

As a small business owner you may hire people as independent contractors or as employees. There are rules that will help you determine how to classify the people you hire. This will affect how much you pay in taxes, whether you need to withhold from your workers paychecks and what tax documents you need to file.

Here are seven things every business owner should know about hiring people as independent contractors versus hiring them as employees.

1. The IRS uses three characteristics to determine the relationship between businesses and workers: Behavioral Control covers facts that show whether the business has a right to direct or control how the work is done through instructions, training or other means. Financial Control covers facts that show whether the business has a right to direct or control the financial and business aspects of the worker's job.


2. Type of Relationship factor relates to how the workers and the business owner perceive their relationship.



3. If you have the right to control or direct not only what is to be done, but also how it is to be done, then your workers are most likely employees.



4. If you can direct or control only the result of the work done -- and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result -- then your workers are probably independent contractors.



5. Employers who misclassify workers as independent contractors can end up with substantial tax bills. Additionally, they can face penalties for failing to pay employment taxes and for failing to file required tax forms.



6. Workers can avoid higher tax bills and lost benefits if they know their proper status.



7. Both employers and workers can ask the IRS to make a determination on whether a specific individual is an independent contractor or an employee by filing a Form SS-8, Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding, with the IRS.

Please contact us at Double Entry Bookkeeping, LLC. for further information.

Vermont Department of Labor - UI Reform - 2010

Vermont's 2010 legislative session passed several changes:

• Increased taxable wage base to $13,000 effective January 1, 2011.
• The taxable wage base will increase again January 1, 2012 to $16,000.
• Increased penalties for late reports effective July 1, 2010 such as separation and wage requests; quarterly reports.
• New penalties for misclassification of workers: up to $5,000 per unreported worker, per report.
• Effective July 1st, employers will be required to report all new hires within 10 days of the worker's start date. The start date is the first day services are performed for compensation.

Please contact us at Double Entry Bookkeeping, LLC. for further information.