Creditors keep their evaluation standards secret, making it difficult to know just how to improve your credit rating. Nonetheless, it is still important to understand the factors that determine creditworthiness. Periodically reviewing your credit report can also help you protect your credit rating from fraud--and you from identity theft. Credit Evaluation Factors Many factors [...]
Small business owners are reminded that tax reform legislation lowered the backup withholding tax rate to 24 percent. In addition, the withholding rate that usually applies to bonuses and other supplemental wages was also lowered to 22 percent. As such, employers should have their employees check their withholding. Backup withholding. Under the Tax Cuts [...]
The key to avoiding headaches at tax time is keeping track of your receipts and other records throughout the year. Whether you use an excel spreadsheet, an app, an online system or keep your receipts organized in a folding file organized by month, good record-keeping will help you remember the various transactions you made [...]
If you've decided to start a business, one of the most important decisions you'll need to make is choosing a legal entity. It's a decision that impacts many things--from the amount of taxes you pay to how much paperwork you have to deal with and what type of personal liability you could face. Even [...]
Is Charleston the most undervalued U.S. city for housing costs? So says a new analysis from Smart Asset (www.smartasset.com). As quoted in today's Post and Courier, "We estimate, given the quality of life available in the Holy City, that home prices in the area should be around $294.40 per square foot. According to data [...]
The Associated Press has calculated each state's per-capita federal tax bill (federal income, payroll, and estate tax) using data from IRS and population estimates from the Census Bureau. The result shows that South Carolina residents pay $4,685 per-capita, among the lowest in the nation and explained by low per-capita income. The most heavily taxed? [...]
The Post and Courier reports that TechNet, a Washington-based innovation advocacy group, has released a "startup economy index" based on the proportion of job postings in a region that uses the word "startup." The Lowcountry ranks #25, which is fairly high given its size, and is on the same tier as cities like Houston and [...]
According to a recent article in the Post & Courier, the number of new businesses formed in Charleston since the 2008 recession has outpaced most of the nation. According to U.S. Census data, 1,700 businesses opened up in Charleston in 2014. Every year since 2011, the Lowcountry has seen a growth in new firms, [...]
