Research Network Blog of NYS SBDC

From US Citizenship and Immigration Services:

Form I-9 is used for verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must ensure proper completion of Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and noncitizens. Both employees and employers (or authorized representatives of the employer) must complete the form. On the form, an employee must attest to his or her employment authorization. The employee must also present his or her employer with acceptable documents evidencing identity and employment authorization. The employer must examine the employment eligibility and identity document(s) an employee presents to determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and to relate to the employee and record the document information on the Form I-9. The list of acceptable documents can be found on the last page of the form. Employers must retain Form I-9 for a designated period and make it available for inspection by authorized government officers. NOTE: State agencies may use Form I-9. Also, some agricultural recruiters and referrers for a fee may be required to use Form I-9.

On March 8, 2013, a new version of the Form I-9 was released. Beginning May 7, 2013, employers must only use the new Form I-9.

Download Form I-9 (447KB PDF)
Download M-274, Handbook for Employers, Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (1KB PDF)

Founded in 1986 by Roger and Shelley Gray, Center Line Studios (CLS) builds scenery for Broadway shows, opera, and television.

After 9/11, the industry went into a recession. They downsized and moved to a smaller location. They were limited by physical space constraints and were unable to accept projects that would enable the company to grow. In March 2011, they purchased a large building. Vacant for many years, it needed substantial work.

They spent the summer cleaning and doing construction. In August 2011, with Hurricane Irene, the creek flooded by taking the most direct path, through the building, delaying their move.

In January 2012, their small shop caught on fire. They moved the office to their dining room table. The shop continued to function in the area where the fire damage wasn’t as bad.

In February 2012, they met with Mid-Hudson SBDC adviser Myriam Bouchard with the goal of securing a loan to finish the renovations. A few months later, they moved the office out of their living room, and the shop out of the burned facility and into their new headquarters.
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WASHINGTON – A global climate expert from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will share the 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season forecast during a free webinar Tuesday, May 28 hosted by SBA and Agility Recovery. After the weather discussion, disaster preparedness tips will be presented by Agility.

Dr. Gerry Bell has been the lead scientist of NOAA’s Long-Range Hurricane Outlook Team since 1998. He was instrumental in developing NOAA’s Atlantic and East Pacific hurricane activity outlook, and has done weather analysis on CNN and The Weather Channel.

The Atlantic Hurricane Season begins June 1. Last year’s season ended memorably when Hurricane Sandy pounded the Eastern Seaboard in late October. The storm caused billions of dollars in damages, and so far the SBA has approved about $370 million in disaster loans to more than 3,500 businesses affected by Sandy.

Now is a good time to protect your employees, customers and business from the devastating physical and economic toll of disasters by making a plan to be safe and stay in business. During the webinar, Agility Recovery President Bob Boyd will share practical business continuity tips.

SBA has partnered with Agility to offer disaster preparedness strategies through its “PrepareMyBusiness” website.

Visit www.preparemybusiness.org to access past webinars.

The SBA provides disaster recovery assistance in the form of low-interest loans to homeowners, renters, private nonprofits and businesses of all sizes. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov/disaster.

WHAT: “Protect Your Business This Hurricane Season” – A forecast from Dr. Gerry Bell, with preparedness tips from Bob Boyd, Agility Recovery President & CEO, followed by a question and answer session

WHEN: Tuesday, May 28 – 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT
HOW: Space is limited. Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/327979008

From SLATE.


The Internet, in the popular imagination, is supposed to be free... But you don’t have to be a right-winger to recoil at the idea of an Internet sales tax. People who shop online have always gotten a free ride... Many states require you to pay that extra sales tax on your tax return, but who does that? Nobody, that’s who. The net effect is that shopping online earns you a big, permanent discount. If you’re buying anything big, it almost always makes sense to avoid physical stores.

At least, it did until recently. During the last two years, Amazon, which had long led the charge against efforts to collect sales tax on online purchases, suddenly began striking tax deals with states. This was a strategic capitulation—by agreeing to collect taxes, Amazon can now build huge warehouses across the country. (It had previously avoided setting up warehouses in many states in an effort to avoid creating a “tax nexus.”) The warehouses allow Amazon to significantly increase its shipping speed, approaching same-day shipping in many areas. Brilliantly, Amazon has turned the tax issue into an advantage.

Amazon’s reversal led the way for a national Internet sales tax plan. That’s how we got to the Marketplace Fairness Act, which seems likely to pass the Senate... (there are also encouraging signs in the House). If the bill does pass, a state like Illinois, which loses an estimated $169 million a year in tax to Internet sales, would be able to force out-of-state retailers (e.g., the Washington-based Amazon) to collect sales tax from any Illinois resident. In other words, your free ride would end—no more tax-free stuff from Amazon...

But don’t hate this bill just because you’ll end up paying more. The Marketplace Fairness Act does something that’s almost unheard of: It makes taxes fairer and simpler. There’s also a carve-out for small businesses—any online company with less than $1 million in annual revenue will be exempt from the law.

Check out the Trade Finance Guide: A Quick Reference for U.S. Exporters. Spanish version now available! This guide is designed to help U.S. companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, learn the basics of trade finance so that they can turn their export opportunities into actual sales and achieve the ultimate goal of getting paid—especially on time—for those sales.

Visit this site to download your copy - in English or Spanish!