Home Office Bill of Rights published to help home-based business operators fight restrictive legislation; Important document written by Home Office Association of America.NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 1995--Technology has made yesterday's work rules obsolete. It's now easier to work at home than in an office. However, many local zoning officials don't see it that way. Chicago recently passed a zoning ordinance that severely restricts and taxes home-based businesses. Similar legislation is pending across the country from Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. and Riverside, Calif. to Fruit Heights, Utah Fruit Heights is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. One of the suburb cities of Farmington & Kaysville. The population was 4,701 at the 2000 census. In 2000, Fruit Heights was the 63rd-largest incorporated place in Utah. By 2004, it had fallen to the 76th-largest. to Bloomington, Ind. to Westchester County, N.Y. In an effort to help individuals and work-at-home groups respond to unfair zoning legislation, the Home Office Association of America recently published a Home Office Bill of Rights. "Telecommuting telecommuting, an arrangement by which people work at home using a computer and telephone, transmitting work material to a business office by means of a modem and telephone lines; it is also known as telework. and the `virtual office,' are changing the corporate landscape and unclogging commuter highways," said Home Office Association of America Chairman Richard Ekstract. "Meanwhile, local bureaucrats are creating legislation that thwarts this progress. The Home Office Bill of Rights is a blueprint that will enable home office workers to organize and take action in their local communities." The three-part document is designed as a framework for community action. The treatise A scholarly legal publication containing all the law relating to a particular area, such as Criminal Law or Land-Use Control. Lawyers commonly use treatises in order to review the law and update their knowledge of pertinent case decisions and statutes. outlines five home office recommendations concerning local zoning issues and a proposal for adding five more national rights for home office workers. The second page of the document is a three-point, step-by-step guide on how local home-based business operators can work with local lawmakers and increase the odds that favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. legislation will pass. Highlights of the local zoning recommendations include: o Limit Zoning Rules -- Legislators should not pass restrictions affecting the inside of a home used in a home-based business. o Disallow To exclude; reject; deny the force or validity of. The term disallow is applied to such things as an insurance company's refusal to pay a claim. Excessive Licensing Fees -- The cost for administrative licenses should be no greater than that required to cover the costs of administrative paperwork. o Permit Hiring of Employees -- Rules should not be passed that arbitrarily restrict the number of employees that can be hired by a home-based business. o Permit Access to Customers -- No rules should be placed limiting the number of customers which a home-based business can service. o Eliminate Unfunded Mandates An unfunded mandate is a statute that requires government or private parties to carry out specific actions, but does not appropriate any funds for that purpose. Examples Nationally, the HOAA HOAA Home Office Association of America will work with its Washington D.C. legal and lobbying firm to help ensure passage of the following five points that affect home-based businesses: o Ensure Tax Deductions Tax deduction An expense that a taxpayer is allowed to deduct from taxable income. tax deduction See deduction. o Allow Greater Expensing o Eliminate Location Restrictions on Tax Deductions o Provide Equitable Health Insurance Treatment o Permit Flexible Customer Service Ekstract also stated the importance of community action. "Neither local nor federal lawmakers will take this issue seriously unless home-based business operators make themselves heard. Let local and national lawmakers know that you truly mean business. If you believe that you deserve fair treatment from the government, then it's up to you to make sure you get it." The Home Office Association of America is dedicated to multiplying the resources of home office workers. Membership in the organization is $35.00 per year (tax deductible That which may be taken away or subtracted. In taxation, an item that may be subtracted from gross income or adjusted gross income in determining taxable income (e.g., interest expenses, charitable contributions, certain taxes). ). The organization publishes a monthly newsletter, Home Office Connections, and conducts lobbying activities in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere. It offers group health insurance, savings on UPS package deliveries, discounts on long distance phone calls, Kinko's discounts and a variety of other member benefits. The national organization is celebrating its first anniversary this month by going online on the World Wide Web (http://www.hoaa.com) with a home-page called "SoHo Central." The web site will feature background information on the HOAA, including a posting of the Home Office Bill of Rights, a monthly "Win a Home Office Contest," a growing list of new business startups that can be launched from the home, and much more. For a free copy of the Home Office Bill of Rights or more information on how to join the Home Office Association of America, call 1-800-809-4622. CONTACT: Kahn Communications Group Howard Solomon Howard Solomon is head of Forest Laboratories and father of noted novelist and writer Andrew Solomon. Business Week article profiling Howard Solomon , 212/598-6387 |
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