In case you were too busy growing your business to read the news, here’s what you missed:
THE CHAMBER WILL BE HOSTING A TAX WORKSHOP ON FEBRUARY 8TH IN LAWRENCEBURG
February 8th at the Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce Tax Workshop Breakfast. Join us as we host Liberty Tax Service to help inform and guide us through the ever changing maze that is the US Federal Tax Code. The workshop will begin at 8:30am at the Depot Room in the Lawrenceburg Public Library. Light breakfast will be served. This event is free for Chamber members and their employees ($10 for non members).
THE INDIANA UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DROPPED TO 3.4%
According to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, the state’s jobless rate remains lower than the national rate of 4.1 percent.
With the exception of one month, Indiana’s unemployment rate has been at or under the national rate for the last four years.
CONGRATULATIONS TO NICK GOEPPER!
It’s a certainty now. Southeastern Indiana’s Nick Goepper will be making a return trip to the Winter Olympics.
The Hidden Valley Lake native qualified for his second winter games at the U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain in California on Sunday. Although he finished only eighth in the men’s ski slopestyle final, he was the best-placing American at the event.
“Yes, I felt like I was still going to be in my prime and skiing well and going to another games and hopefully another one after this. Nice to meet my goals,” Goepper said afterward.
Goepper, who learned to ski at Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg, was the bronze medalist at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He’ll head to the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea in February.
House Passes Bill To Codify Dearborn County Riverboat Revenue Sharing
Casino tax revenue sharing in Dearborn County would be protected under a bill that has passed the Indiana House.
Last year, Dearborn County Council considered seizing revenue sharing payments to local communities including the cities of Greendale and Aurora, as well as the towns of Dillsboro, Moores Hill, St. Leon, and West Harrison. Some council members cited a State Board of Accounts audit which determined the county 1997 resolution establishing the revenue sharing was not in line with state law.
The threat of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual funding didn’t sit well with the city and town officials.
Although local leaders put the issue on hold last summer, state lawmakers took notice of the quarreling. This legislative session, State Representative Randy Frye (R-Greensburg) filed House Bill 1027 to address the problem.
“The State Board of Accounts has pointed out – several times, I understand – there is nothing in statute that makes that legal. It’s not a huge thing. Nobody got a big fine. Nobody went to jail, or anything like that. But they suggested that we solve it. So, I went to the State Board of Accounts and asked them to write the language that would resolve the issue,” Frye explained on Eagle Country 99.3 this week.
Dealing with Sexual Harassment When Your Company Is Too Small to Have HR
The subject of sexual misconduct at work is dominating mainstream conversation and board room agendas. This doesn’t just mean men and women who run large global enterprises, Fortune 500 behemoths, film studios, and media platforms. The conversation is happening in small businesses as well.
In the U.S. 43% of employees work in organizations with 50 or fewer people. It would be a mistake to think that a smaller workforce means a decreased chance of sexual harassment. In fact, a few characteristics make small firms more susceptible.
For example, at a smaller firm, people may engage with each other more frequently and that proximity can make the impact of any harassment feel disproportionately large. It can be extremely disruptive if two out of twenty employees suddenly can’t work together and need to be separated. And the legal and punitive costs of sexual harassment cases can feel steeper to a firm with less money and fewer resources…
Why the Pessimists Are Wrong About the New U.S. Tax Law
While economists could see how that would lead to increased capital inflows to the United States and therefore to higher real wages, that was lost on the broader public. But the reduced withholding that will begin in the first part of 2018 will send a clearer signal to most taxpayers that they do benefit from the recent reform. Over time, rising productivity will induce firms to raise wages to attract and retain employees. Over time the current skeptics will see that the tax reform is better than they now think.
House panel advances ‘hillbilly venture capital’ legislation
House Bill 1319, authored by Rep. Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne, would allow payday lenders to offer so-called unsecured consumer installment loans, which are three-month to one-year loans in amounts ranging from $605.01 to $1,500.
The monthly payment requirement would be no more than 20 percent of a borrower’s gross monthly income, and lender would be restricted to making one loan to a borrower at a time. Carbaugh said the product would “help people build credit.”
“These are folks that can’t get credit from a traditional bank,” Carbaugh. “These are folks that a lot of times have emergencies pop up and need help.” Rep. Mike Speedy, R-Indianapolis, said the loans could be “very crucial to small businessmen who have bad credit.”
Batesville school concept could go statewide
A year ago, Batesville Community Schools Superintendent Paul Ketcham and State Rep. Robert Behning discussed ways the southeastern Indiana district partners with businesses to prepare students to join the workforce.
They focused on expanding Batesville’s model to the rest of the state.
On Tuesday, the men brought the idea to the Indiana House Education Committee with hopes of implementing programs to reach students beyond Batesville’s rural area and going into urban districts.
“Our goal is to expand and maximize our co-op and work-based experiences so that high school students can earn college credit and work towards obtaining an associate’s degree or TGEC, transfer general education core,” said Ketcham.