Why aren’t more small business owners taking advantage of government help?
According to a new report, the US government “isn’t doing enough” for small businesses. I’m calling baloney.
“Business owners don’t feel like the programs are all that effective and they also don’t even feel like they have a sense of what’s available, some of which maybe is effective,” said Joe Wall, national director of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, of the survey of more than 1,800 small businesses in 48 states.
Well, Wall is right. There are many programs, credits and financing opportunities available from the government for small businesses that often get overlooked – by small businesses.
For example, few of my clients are aware of the work opportunity tax credit, a tax incentive that was extended through 2025 that can give businesses up to a $9,600 credit against the taxes they owe if they hire someone out of prison, on welfare, from the military or who has been unemployed for more than six months.
Many small business owners I meet remain ignorant of the thousands of dollars potentially available to them if they take advantage of the employee retention tax credit. And countless others don’t realize that there are credits and deductions available to them for offering paid leave, paying for their employees’ educational expenses and reimbursing for childcare expenses – all benefits that could be used to attract talent in this tight labor market. Even if your accountant isn’t making you aware of these incentives, there are plenty of webinars and other training programs available for free from the IRS.
Some say that the government doesn’t do enough to help find skilled workers. Actually, that’s a problem that many states are already addressing. For example Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota and – frankly – most other
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