

Know the tax rules for gifts to employees and customers
If you provide bonuses, awards, gifts or prizes to employees or customers, it’s important to understand the tax consequences. It’s particularly important if the recipient is going to have to pay a tax – you’ll want them to understand this fact from the start, so they don’t get an unpleasant surprise later. In general, any gifts made by a company to an employee are considered wages. They’re subject to both employment tax and income tax, and must be reported on an employee’s


Buyout provisions can have unexpected consequences
Many businesses have a buyout agreement that says that if one owner retires or resigns, the others can buy out his or her interest at a certain price. These agreements are a smart idea for retaining control of a company. But you should keep in mind that they can sometimes be used in ways you wouldn’t expect. For instance, Irvin Gordon was a member of a professional firm in New Hampshire. His agreement said that if he died or resigned, the other owners would buy out his intere


You may need a policy covering employees’ use of cloud storage
Employees are discovering that cloud storage services are a great way to access work-related data at home and on the road, and to collaborate with co-workers, especially those who work remotely. Unfortunately, they’re also a great way to make your confidential data insecure – which is why you may need a thoughtful policy covering their use. Cloud services allow a user to log into an account, upload documents or files, and then access or download them from any device, anywhere


Does your insurance cover a data breach?
Given the rapid increase in data breaches – affecting not only Fortune 500 companies but smaller businesses as well – it’s worth checking whether your current insurance policy covers cyber losses. That’s especially true now that almost every state requires companies to notify customers if their data has been compromised. A growing number of insurers are now offering cyber-liability policies. These typically cover the costs of investigating a data breach and notifying customer