There's the New Economy, the New Workplace and, of course, the much-anticipated New Millenium. What we haven't heard much about, though, are New Laws that recognize the New Reality of running a business from home. As is too often the case, government lags behind. It hasn't responded quickly enough to changing conditions in our economy and our work lives. Happily, that may be changing.
Health insurance is a major concern for the self-employed.
Currently, about four million self-employed are uninsured. The current tax code favors corporate employers by letting them deduct the full costs of health insurance. Restoring the home office deduction is also important to the self-employed, especially to parents raising children while working at home. Small business owners who work outside the home but whose office is in the home should be able to take the deduction without fear of an IRS audit. But for those who are just starting out it's the difference between having health insurance or not, between buying a laser printer or not, between doing marketing that will boost business income so they can pay more taxes or not.