Here’s What Happened in the World of Small Business in May 2021

Here are five things that happened this past month that affect your small business.

1) The US Treasury proposed a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%.

Continuing its push for a global minimum tax for businesses, the Treasury Department said on May 20th that corporations should pay at least a 15% tax on their earnings. That being said, the final rate could go even higher – a Treasury release said that the 15% minimum is a “floor and that discussions should continue to be ambitious and push that rate higher.” (Source: CNBC)

Why this is important for your business:
If your business grows to be a multinational corporation, this would affect your bottom line.

2) As offices reopen, some employees don’t want to go back – ever.

As the economy continues to reopen, the conversation around working from home or returning to the office (or some combination) is growing louder. According to a Harris Poll survey, “Forty percent of Americans prefer to work from home full-time, compared with 35% who seek a home-office hybrid and 25% who want to go back to the office full-time.” (Source: USA Today)

Why this is important for your business:
Deciding on your work from home policies going forward will influence employee satisfaction (and probably retention). Choose carefully.

3) Inflation fears abound as prices across various sectors continue to rise.

As the economy gains steam, “demand is coming back faster than supply. It’s a recipe for bigger price tags for everything from airline tickets to used cars, at least temporarily.” Congress has put the Federal Reserve in charge of controlling inflation, and while they think the jump in prices this year will fade, fears across the political spectrum continue. (Source: The New York Times)

Why this is important for your business:
Demand, supply, pricing – inflation would affect just about everything with your business.

4) As companies race to attract service workers, some are increasing their minimum wage.

As shops and restaurants reopen, some – like Chipotle – are looking to add to their workforce and are increasing pay to entice candidates to come onboard. (Source: Fast Company)

Why this is important for your business:
The push for a $15 minimum wage seems to have stalled in Congress for now, but some businesses are feeling the need to increase their wages to catch the eye of new employees.

5) As Americans start dining out again, food supply chain issues loom.

People are heading back to restaurants, bars, and other types of dining establishments, but “suppliers and logistics providers say distributors are facing shortages of everyday products like chicken parts.” They’re also facing “difficulty in finding workers and surging transportation costs as companies effectively try to reverse the big changes in food services that came as coronavirus lockdowns spread across the U.S. last year.” (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Why this is important for your business:
If your business is in the food and beverage space, these supply chain interruptions could create problems for your operations.

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