“How’s it going?”

We ask this question pretty much every time we’re on the phone with an SAF member. Anecdotally, it gives us a sense of how the industry is doing.  But toward the end of last year, we wanted to get more of a “statistically accurate” sense for how our members are doing in this recession.

So we sent an “economic outlook” survey late in January to SAF members. We asked about how business was going, what the prospects were for things improving, whether you were adjusting your staff levels. The results were interesting – and you can see them in the Spring issue of SAF’s Floral Trend Tracker.
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When is the last time you heard the IRS want to rescind a law that generates tax revenue?  Possibly never?  But it’s true.

The Obama Administration has asked Congress to repeal a widely ignored law from 1989 that required employers and employees to pay taxes on personal use of company cell phones.

The law stated that personal use of a company cell phone should be taxed like any other fringe benefit.  But the IRS on Wednesday said the law is burdensome, poorly understood and difficult to administer.

“The passage of time, advances in technology and the nature of communication in the modern workplace have rendered this law obsolete,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman in a statement.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee, also noted that cell phones are no longer considered “executive perks or luxuries” but have become everyday necessities in the workplace.

The House passed a bill to repeal the tax last year but it stalled in the Senate.  Bills have been introduced this year in both the House and Senate.

So soon with the approval of Congress, you’ll be able to make a guilt-free personal call on a company cell phone.