I sold my company in 1994. It was small with only about a dozen employees. The reason I sold it was because I had to fill out the same stupid paperwork as any huge corporation did and I was spending more time doing that than running the business. Also, my company sold software that was mainly sold to educational and tax-exempt companies. The state said that my sales tax figures were too low relative to sales. The result was an audit that took me and one of my clerical staff away from our jobs for 4 1/2 days. In the end, the auditor laughed and said: “Your figures are correct.” and left. That kind of crap would cease if I could charge the state my going wage rate for the time they took me away from my job. It’s ridiculous.
The other day I got an e-mail the day after Obama was re-elected, it came from a small business acquaintance, it read in part:
"I've given this my best but the economy as we all knows isn't great and God only knows what'll happen from here on....
I'm selling a LOT of stuff SATURDAY the 10th at 10:00 - 12:00. There will be some great deals and they'll go fast!
I gave it my best, but unfortunately under this economy I just couldn't get it done." -Tom
The regulations and fees finally forced me out in 2010.
Its only going to get worse now and quickly.