Monthly Archives: December 2013
In November, the United States economy added 203,000 jobs, beating the economists’ prediction by 20,000. At 7%, the unemployment rate is at the lowest level since November 2008. This news is inspiring for the 11 million Americans who remain unemployed. The big gains this month came from the two ends of the wage spectrum – jobs that pay low wages and those that pay higher salaries. For example, while restaurants and retailers continued to create jobs, business and professional services created even more. According to Deloitte’s Chief Financial Officer, Frank Friedman, “This was a strong, good quality report showing … Click to Read More
According to a new residential property tax study from the Tax Policy Center, some of the lowest property taxes in America are found in certain counties in Alabama and Louisiana. Between 2007 and 2011, when data for the survey was collected, 60% of the counties in the country reported average property taxes of between $500 and $1500 a year. During that same period of time, the study found 24 counties with annual property tax bills below $250 per month, mostly in Alabama and Louisiana. The results of the study also revealed that parts of Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio and North Dakota … Click to Read More
Health Market Delay for Small Businesses – The day before Thanksgiving the United States Department of Health and Human Services announced another delay in the use of government websites to enroll in health insurance plans under the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. According to the announcement, small businesses will not be able to use the government sites to enroll in health insurance plans until November 2014. This was the second such delay for small businesses. These exchanges were originally scheduled to be available for enrollment on October 31st and had already been delayed once to a new deadline … Click to Read More