• Micro-Business Owners Are Paying Critically at the Pump
• Supreme Court Nomination, Budget to Dominate Congress Through the End of the Year
• November Member Poll: Finding Financing – What’s Your Opinion?
• Tax Relief Granted for Hurricane Wilma Victims

Micro-Business Owners Are Paying Critically at the Pump

Over 70 percent of micro-business owners say that rising gasoline prices are significantly or moderately hurting their businesses, according to a recent online member poll by the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE). Forty-three percent of respondents said they have had to increase prices of service or products because of skyrocketing costs. “Micro-business owners often depend on their cars to connect with their consumers, or use shipping services to mail products,” said NASE president Robert Hughes. “Most people did not account for such increases in their travel or shipping budgets for the year.” Two-thirds of respondents favored tax subsidies to energy companies to develop new energy efficient technologies as well as tax credits to drivers who buy cars with fuel-efficient technology. Sixty-seven percent of respondents also favored additional drilling in possible oil rich areas within and off shore of the U.S. A majority favor alternative energy source expansion (61 percent) and the use of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to counter rising costs (55 percent). “The NASE is working with legislators to alleviate this financial burden on micro-business owners,” said Kristie Darien, executive director of the NASE legislative office. To see the full results of the survey, visit http://advocacy.nase.org/membersurvey/default.asp. Methodology: Posted in the members-only portal on the NASE Web site, the survey was available for members to take through the month of October. Over 500 NASE Members opted-in to the non-scientific survey and members were prohibited from taking it more than once. Supreme Court Nomination, Budget to Dominate Congress Through the End of the Year Samuel A. Alito Jr. It is clear that the rest of the year will focus on another Supreme Court nomination and the budget reconciliation battle between the House and the Senate. Harriet Miers, nominated to fill the Associate Justice seat currently held by Sandra Day O’Connor, withdrew her name from consideration last week. President Bush moved quickly to name the new nominee, Samuel A. Alito Jr. Alito has met with approval from Republicans on his conservative judicial record and criticism from Democrats already. His experience is extensive with 15 years as a federal appeals court judge (appointed by George H.W. Bush) and as an assistant to the solicitor general under the Reagan administration. “In the performance of his duties, Judge Alito has gained the respect of his colleagues and attorneys for his brilliance and decency. He's won admirers across the political spectrum,” said Bush. “I'm confident that the United States Senate will be impressed by Judge Alito's distinguished record, his measured judicial temperament, and his tremendous personal integrity” Expect this nomination process to greatly differ from the last two. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts eased through the nomination process and former nominee Harriet Miers faced loud criticism from staunch conservatives. Alito’s nomination process is sure to be rife with liberal criticism and a possible Senatorial filibuster. President Bush has called for a vote on Alito by the end of the year, but it is likely it will carry into next year. For now, House and Senate Republican leaders are trying to pass budget cuts to fund hurricane relief and avian flu preparedness. This week President Bush has called for $7.1 billion to prepare vaccinations against the avian flu if necessary. The problem remains that the House and Senate are preparing budgets with cuts in different places. This will make the negotiation and reconciliation process very difficult to finish by the end of the year. For example, the House proposal calls for cuts to aid for states to enforce child support and to welfare while the Senate does not. Additionally, the Senate version calls for cuts to Medicaid and Medicare while the House version only proposes cuts to Medicaid. Both plans have been strongly criticized by Democrats. The NASE will continue to follow the budget and Supreme Court nomination processes that will probably carry Congress through the end of the year. Tell your Members of Congress what is important to you by visiting the online NASE Legislative Action Center at http://advocacy.NASE.org. November Member Poll: Finding Financing – What’s Your Opinion? Whether it be financing for a new business or existing business, the self-employed and micro-businesses have a very difficult time gaining access to capital from traditional lending resources such as banking. Tell us how you have handled the financing of your business. Let the NASE know your opinions by visiting the MyNASE Web site at http://my.nase.org/. Log in to your free MyNASE Web Account. If you have not set up an account, you can do so at http://my.nase.org/ with your member number. Let your voice be heard in the association by taking this survey during the month of November. Tax Relief Granted for Hurricane Wilma Victims The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced relief for taxpayers affected by Hurricane Wilma this week. Deadlines for affected taxpayers to file returns, pay taxes and perform other time-sensitive acts have been postponed to Feb. 28, 2006, the same date granted to taxpayers affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Twenty Florida counties have been included in the disaster area: Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Indian River, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, St. Lucie and Sarasota. Affected taxpayers will need to identify themselves to the IRS as hurricane victims by writing “Hurricane Wilma” in red ink at the top of their tax forms or any other documents filed with the IRS. Taxpayers who need to alert the IRS or have other Hurricane Wilma-related questions can also call the special IRS disaster hotline at 1-866-562-5227. For more information, visit www.irs.gov.