May

7

IRS plans eductional campaign for Schedule C filers

May 7, 2008 |

Hi gang.

I’m late to the presses on this one but I wanted to let you know that our friends over at the National Association for the Self-Employed reported in last week’s edition of Washington Watch that the Internal Revenue Service (every microbusiness owner’s favorite government agency) is planning an educational initiative focused on Schedule C filers:

The campaign will consist of hosting small-business workshops and other outreach events, as well as using the IRS website to provide Schedule C filers with information on a variety of topics, including:

* Properly classifying workers as either employees or independent contractors
* Making quarterly estimated quarterly payments to the IRS to cover income tax and self-employment tax liability
* Record keeping in preparation of paying taxes
* Paying taxes electronically
* Hiring a tax professional

In 2006, one in seven taxpayers attached a Schedule C form, amounting to over 21 million Schedules C forms filed and more than $269 billion in total net profits.

Now, of course, knowing me, you know that last sentence caused me to perk up my ears. That’s really something if you stop and think about it — one in seven taxpayers engaged in some form of independent economic activity and earned enough money to be required to report it to the IRS as business income.

That’s a lot of taxpayers.

It’s a lot of voters, too.

And it updates that estimate from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor that I’ve been quoting for years. Instead of one in eight people you meet, now it’s one is even people you meet who are running some kind of business.

The implications of job creation through independent efforts of individual citizens rather than job creation through business expansion is a trend that is worth some thought on the part of policy makers.

Except that they don’t appear to have noticed. -sigh-

If you want to know more about when the traveling IRS Schedule C Educational Show is coming to a theater near you, visit the IRS web site at www.irs.gov.

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Comments

2 Comments so far

  1. Thriveal on May 7, 2008 1:23 pm

    Dawn-

    Don’t ever grow weary of touting the strength of the microbusiness in America. Policy makers will stand up within the next 10 years (or so), as this segment of our economy becomes a true undeniable powerhouse.

    Keep up the good work!

    Thanks, Jason M. Blumer

  2. The Journal Blogger on May 8, 2008 7:56 pm

    Thanks, Jason. I guess there really is such a thing as being too far ahead of the curve, huh?

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