4 Business Rules You Should Never Break
The success of a business relies on different factors such as capital investment, number of employees, prices of goods and location. These factors are directly proportional to profits; a change in one of these factors either decreases or increases profits. However, there are intangible factors that also dictate your business's success.
One of them is business laws, which may not only hurt your revenues, but can also crush your business dreams. Check out the following rules which are never meant to be broken:
1. Do Not Lie When Advertising
When advertising your products to consumers, you must not leave out important details, add false messages or use aggressive sales methods to boost your sales. Doing so may attract a heavy fine or imprisonment, depending on the degree of your crime.
Using another competitor's trademark or comparing your product to his is also forbidden.
2. Always Pay for Overtime Work
An employee can sue you for failing to pay for his or her overtime work. According to the US Department of Labor (DOL), if an employee works for more than 40 hours a week, it is considered overtime. You are to pay for overtime services at a rate of one and a half times the normal rate of pay. Failure to pay may of course grant you a meeting with a judge for prosecution.
3. Pay Your Taxes on Time
Fail to pay taxes on time and risk hefty monthly charges. Fail to pay taxes at all and you risk being arrested. In the US, you pay more for failing to file for taxes than actually failing to pay for taxes. You are charged 5% of your unpaid taxes for each month and if you do not pay taxes before the expected date, you will pay ½ of 1% of your unpaid taxes for each month.
4. Do Not Merge With Competitors to Gain Unfair Advantage
Merging or conspiring with other business competitors to fix prices, monopolize the market or for any other illegal reason is a felony. In the US, the laws that govern against such practices are known as antitrust laws. The laws are there to protect consumers by ensuring that sellers remain in stiff completion and hence give consumers the benefits of higher quality products, lower prices of goods and diverse options.
As your business lawyer would tell you, it is better to comply with government laws for prosperity of your business. You may find ways to bend the rules and get away with it, but when you will get caught, it could be end of your dreams.
Contact a company such as Anthonys Solicitors to learn more.