President Barack Obama approved a $168 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or the Economic Stimulus Package, this year. The stimulus package was created to help the US economy get back on track after recently being declared in a recession.

As a small business owner, you may benefit from the Stimulus Package. Some of the new tax provisions will put more money into the hands of small business owners, encouraging you to expand and improve your business operations. The Federation of American Consumers and Travelers (FACT) has published the key tax changes affecting small businesses and here are come highlights you should be aware of:

A Section 179 Increase: The limit for first year expense has increased from $128,000 to $250,000. Business owners can deduct the full amount from annual income up to $250,000 instead of depreciating newly acquired assets over a number of years.

The Bonus Depreciation Provision: This provides a one-year depreciation deduction for 50 percent of the value of the property placed in service during 2008 when the value exceeds $250,000. The remaining cost is depreciated under the regular depreciation rules.

S-Corp holding period: Temporarily shortens the holding period of assets subject to the built-in gains tax from 10 years to 7 years.

Expanded loss carryback of net operating losses for small businesses: Net operating losses may be carried back to the two years before the year that the loss arises and carried forward to each of the succeeding twenty years after the year that the loss arises. The new law extends the maximum net operating losses carryback period from two years to five years for small businesses with gross receipts of $15 million or less.

Incentives to hire unemployed veterans and disconnected youth: The new law expands the work opportunity tax credit to include unemployed veterans and disconnected youth. Individuals qualify as unemployed veterans if they were discharged or released from active duty from the Armed Forces during 2008, 2009 or 2010 and received unemployment compensation for more than 4 weeks during the year. Individuals qualify as disconnected youths if they are between the ages of 16 and 25 and have not been regularly employed or attended school in the past 6 months.

Extension of monetization of accumulated AMT and Research and Development credits in lieu of bonus depreciation: Allows AMT and loss taxpayers in 2009 to receive 20% of the value of their old AMT or research and development credits to the extent such taxpayers invest in assets that qualify for bonus depreciation.

Delayed recognition of certain cancellation of debt income: Lets the businesses recognize cancellation of debt income over 10 years for specified types of business debt repurchased by the business in 2009 or 2010.

Qualified small business stock: Increases the exclusion for gain from the sale of certain small business stock held for more than five years from 50% to 75% for stock issued after the enactment date and before 2011.

For more information about how the Stimulus Package can help you and your small business, please check with tax advisor and/or visit Recovery.gov.

To ensure you hire the right staff for the right roles, take these steps:

1. Define the Role - Sounds easy, but defining the role properly is the most important step to take when recruiting new staff. You need to create a Job Description document that describes the: · Purpose and responsibilities of the role; · Reporting and communication relationships; · Skills, experience and qualifications needed; · Team fit and performance criteria; · Salary, rate, commission and benefits; and · Work environment and special conditions.

2. Find Top Candidates - Next, advertise the role both internally and externally. Make your advert as specific as possible by listing the key responsibilities. Explain the challenges that they will face. List any special requirements. Make it sound enticing, but don't oversell it. Then while the adverts are running identify your selection criteria for interviews, based on the characteristics in the Job Description. When the adverts close, review your list of applicants against the selection criteria and choose between 3 and 5 applicants to interview.

3. Interview Candidates - Next, interview the selected candidates. Make sure you prepare fully for each interview, so don't just "wing it". For every interview, you should: · Prepare a list of questions before you start. · Cover all areas of the Job Description during the interview. · Address any strengths and weaknesses from their CV. · Consider the quality of the questions they've posed to you. · Be specific, direct and to the point at all times. Don't be afraid to take notes during the interview. You will find that if you're interviewing more than 3 candidates, you will need to rely on the interview notes heavily when progressing to the next stage.

4. Test Candidates - Depending on the type of role you're recruiting for, you may also want to formally test your candidates. Here are 10 ways that you can test candidates to determine their suitability against the Job Description: 1. Perform personality, competency and numerical testing. 2. Get them to send samples of work completed in the past. 3. Ask them to perform specific project tasks. For instance, if hiring a software developer, get them to write you an example program. 4. Perform a second interview with management. 5. Get them to meet the team and allow the team to ask questions. 6. Take them for lunch with your team and see how they socialize. 7. Get them to do a formal presentation to your team. 8. Seek 3 professional references, all from past employers. 9. Ask them for 2 personal references, for character checking. 10. Speak to their prior customers to confirm their competency.

5. Select Candidate - Based on the interview and test results, the next step is to select the right person for the job. If you have a number of people that you can't decide between, then here are your options: · Hire neither and start again. It's difficult to do this as you've put in a lot of work to get to this point. But it may be better to start again than hire a candidate who will not meet your needs fully. · Hire both and deliver earlier. In some cases you can split a Job Description in two and allocate the responsibilities to more than one person. It's challenging and risky doing this, but in some cases you can deliver the project earlier and at the same cost by hiring 2 gifted candidates at the same time. · Select the best candidate. In most cases you're landed with this option. If both candidates are "on an even par", then don't pass the decision on to someone else, go with your gut feel. We could give you numerous statistical testing methods to choose the right person, but at the end of the day they have to be able to do the job and fit in with your team-and only you will know which candidate is best to do this. Your ability to hire the right people will determine your success as a Project Manager. So take your time and use this recruitment process to choose

The Department of Revenue is offering a tax amnesty program that provides a limited-time opportunity for taxpayers to come into compliance with Arizona's tax laws at a reduced cost. Arizona will offer Tax Amnesty from May 1 to June 1, 2009. This is an opportunity for those who live, work, or do business in Arizona to pay any back taxes owed to the state without penalty or criminal prosecution, and at a reduced interest rate for those who qualify. For more information, contact the Arizona Department of Revenue at 602-364-3550 or visit www.azdor.gov/taxamnesty.

There's a really simple way that businesses of all sizes can make their communications - including their email newsletters - work harder and get better results. It's called segmentation... "What IS segmentation?"

Let's face it... people have different interests and needs. What appeals to one person may not matter at all to another. Segmentation is the technique of grouping lists of people by their interests and preferences.

"For example?" Let's say you're a real estate agent. Some of your clients may be interested in homes with one or two bedrooms. Others are looking for three or more. By grouping them into two separate lists, you've "segmented" them. That's what segmentation is all about!

"How can that help me?" Once you've "segmented" your contacts according to their interests, you can send each group targeted, focused email newsletters that better fit their needs and interests. Using our real estate example... why send listings for two-bedroom homes to clients who you know are looking for three or more? It's just a waste of your time... and theirs.

"The bottom line?" By sending your customers emails that strike a chord, you'll not only increase your open, click-through, and response rates. You'll communicate with your audience on a deeper, more meaningful level. And that means stronger, more productive, long-term relationships.