This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Small business owners find tax-related regulations the most burdensome, followed by those about health care as well as payroll and employee compensation, according to a survey released by the National Small Business Association advocacy group.
Half the owners surveyed said they spent more than $5,000 in direct costs on federal regulations, making changes to comply with workplace rules or paying attorney's fees. Nearly half said they had $5,000 in indirect costs, such as time taken away from other aspects of running their companies.
Forty-four percent said they spent more than 40 hours a year dealing with federal regulations, and nearly 30 percent said they spent more than 40 hours a year on state and local regulations.
Nearly 60 percent of owners said federal regulations were the most burdensome, more so than state and local regulations. A third of the owners said the IRS was the most difficult federal or state agency to deal with in terms of the regulatory burden and help they got in complying.
The survey, which questioned 1,000 small business owners, was conducted from November through January.
FIRST-TIME EMPLOYER?
Small business owners who are searching for their first employees need to learn how to make a successful hire. SCORE, the association that gives free counseling to small businesses, is sponsoring a seminar on Tuesday about hiring. It will be held at 11 a.m. Mountain time. To register, go to http://bit.ly/2k8VQVM .