GBJ Staff

Nine ways to protect everything you own

Special Focus:
Protecting and Investing

by Hillel L. Presser

More than 100 million lawsuits are filed each year. One in three people will be sued in the next 12 months. No one’s immune, but people showing a lot of assets – whether $100,000 or $5 million – are especially vulnerable.

If someone thinks you’ve got a lot to lose – and thus, they’ve got a lot to gain – you become a choice target. Lawsuits have become big business, especially since the economic downturn. They’re a cheap way for people to make lots of money, often with an investment of just a few hours’ time. Consider how vulnerable are you. Would you survive being sued?

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GBJ Staff

Retailers get ready for sales tax holiday

by William B. Wood

Good news, Gwinnett retail businesses – after a two-year hiatus, the Georgia sales tax holiday returns just in time for back to school sales. The Georgia Legislature in House Bill 386 has approved a sales tax holiday for Aug. 10 and 11, 2012, waiving the tax for many back to school items purchased for personal use. The exemption does not include furniture or any items primarily designed for recreational use.

Introduced in 2002, the sales tax holiday has been suspended since 2010 due to deficient tax revenues. Because tax revenues are strong enough this year such that this holiday was among other tax reform measures approved for 2012.

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GBJ Staff

Deal signs tax reform bill carried by Gwinnett Senator

April 19, 2012, Governor Nathan Deal signed HB 386 into law marking a positive step in tax reform for Georgians. SB 386, carried in the Senate by Sen. Don Balfour (District 9, Gwinnett), will promote pro-jobs, pro-family tax reform with measures that cut taxes for Georgia citizens, recognizes the value of marriage and increases the competitiveness of Georgia businesses.

Features of the reform package include a three-year sales tax holiday for school supplies and energy efficient products, significant reduction of the marriage penalty, elimination of the “birthday” tax and sales tax on motor vehicles, a tax exemption on energy used in manufacturing and construction materials, as well as an E-Fairness measure which will aid in the growth of local businesses.

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GBJ Staff

How to build a succession plan

by Garry W. Bridgeman

No matter where you are in the life of your business, it is important to create a succession plan to help you transition away from the company you’ve built.

A succession plan will:
• Provide continuity for the perpetuation of your business;
• Allow you time to prepare and educate a successor;
• Take into consideration the tax impact; and
• Help you avoid financial pitfalls during the transition process.

Consider these basic tips to help you get started.
1. Start early
You spend years – sometimes decades – building your business, so you shouldn’t expect that planning your exit strategy will happen overnight. Each situation is unique, but the process can take three to five years, and it should evolve as your business grows. A succession plan is not unlike a personal financial strategy that you review and adjust from year-to-year.

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GBJ Staff

Ripple effect of OSHA’s HazCom 2012 ruling

In March, OSHA published its final rule aligning its Hazard Communication (HazCom) Standard with the Global Harmonization System for Classifying and Labeling Chemicals (GHS). The rule, known as HazCom 2012 or the workers’ ‘Right-to-Understand’ rule, substantially changes OSHA’s current standard and affects over 40 million employees at more than five million facilities nationwide.

Impact to businesses

  • Chemical manufacturers and importers are required to evaluate the hazards of the chemicals they produce or import, and prepare labels and safety data sheets to convey the hazard information to their downstream customers;
  • All employers with hazardous chemicals in their workplaces must have labels and safety data sheets for their exposed workers, and train them to handle the chemicals appropriately by the end of 2013.

Major changes to the HazCom Standard

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GBJ Staff

2012 Legislative session good for business

By Chris Clark
Georgia Chamber president and CEO

It is official.  The 2012 session of the Georgia General Assembly is over.  Forty working days have come and gone, and over 500 pieces of legislation are on their way to Governor Deal for him to sign or veto. Those who follow these things will spend the next several weeks analyzing what passed, what didn’t, and what the impact will be on our state’s future.

There is one result that is resoundingly clear – this was a legislative session that was very good for business.  From day one, the Governor and other leaders made it clear that they were focused on competitiveness and that is what they delivered.  Numerous bills were passed that will help existing companies, enhance the recruitment of new investment to our state, and stimulate the creation of much-needed jobs.

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GBJ Staff

Gift card sales alert

The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement (FinCEN) confirms that retailers of ‘pre-paid access products,’ which include gift cards, must comply with anti-money-laundering (AML) regulations.

Highlights of the regulations follow:

  • Retailers issuing gift cards with values of or below $2,000 are exempt from pre-paid access regulations, unless the card is valid internationally or can be refilled remotely.
  • Retailers issuing gift cards for purchases, or in exchange for merchandise returns in its own stores, for values of $2,001 or more, must be take steps to defend against these products being used to launder money.
  • Retailers must comply if issuing cards with a value of $1,000 or more that can be used at stores other than that of the issuing retailer.

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GBJ Staff

Don’t bank on debit card savings

by Kelly McCutchen and John Berlau

Large banks are responding to federal price controls that raise costs for debit card processing. Now, smaller banks and credit unions (and their customers) are at risk from the same.

These price controls, contained in the 2010 Durbin Amendment of ‘Dodd-Frank,’ offer no tangible benefits to consumers. Rather, they cap what retailers pay banks and credit unions to process debit card transactions, shifting those costs to consumers.

Merchants benefit from the use of credit and debit cards through increased sales as well as a reduction in the theft and fraud associated with handling cash and checks. In return, they pay an interchange fee – often called a ‘swipe fee’ – for each purchase with these cards. Before the Durbin Amendment, these fees averaged 1 percent per transaction. A retailer selling a $500 television, for instance, would pay a $5 interchange fee. But since October 2011, large and midsize financial institutions cannot charge more than 21 cents per transaction, whether the purchase is for $5 or $5,000.

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GBJ Staff

Social media in the workplace

by Lee Tucker and Justin Abernathy

In a world in which the common usage of personal electronic devices seems to grow daily, it should not be surprising that social media impacts business in many ways.  Social media represents an integral part of many businesses’ organizational and marketing strategies (fostered, in part, by the continued advancement of technology).  Additionally, employees have legally protected rights to utilize social media for their own benefit in the workplace and these rights may, at times, seem to be at odds with traditional workplace protocol (such as a limitation on ‘socializing at the water cooler’ during company time).

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GBJ Staff

Georgia Senate resolution recognizes Jackson EMC

From Left: Senator Steve Gooch, Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle, Jackson EMC Commercial / Industrial Representatives Josh Priewe and David Lee, Jackson EMC Director of Commercial / Industrial Marketing Lee Chapman, Senator Butch Miller, Jackson EMC Board Chairman Otis Jones, Jackson EMC President & CEO Randall Pugh, Senator Frank Ginn.

Jackson EMC has been recognized by the Georgia State Senate for “excellent customer service, community focused activities, and ethical business practices” in Senate Resolution 757, recently passed at the State Capitol.

The resolution, co-sponsored by Senators Butch Miller (49th), Rene Unterman (45th) and Steve Gooch (51st), noted that “Jackson Electric Membership Corporation plays an instrumental role in meeting the economic development needs of the communities it serves.”

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