Wal-Mart Sues Puerto Rico Over ‘Astonishing And Unsustainable’ Tax Increase | Forbes

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Wal-Mart Puerto Rico, Inc. (Wal-Mart PR), the Puerto Rico arm of the venerable Wal-Mart chain, has filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in a bid to overturn certain new tax laws the retailer says are discriminatory and violate federal laws and the U.S. Constitution. The case is Wal-Mart Puerto Rico Inc. v. Zaragoza-Gomez, 15-cv-3018, U.S. District Court, District of Puerto Rico (San Juan).

According to the complaint, more Puerto Ricans work for Wal-Mart PR than for any other private employer in the Commonwealth: Wal-Mart PR operates 55 Walmart Stores, Walmart Supercenters, Sam’s Clubs, Super Ahorros, and Amigos stores, employing nearly 15,000 people in Puerto Rico. Wal-Mart PR also asserts that it collects more sales tax on behalf of the Commonwealth than any other company or entity, collecting approximately $100 million in sales tax annually.

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The Real Obstacle To Becoming A VC Is Financial, Not Gender, Inequality | TechCrunch

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Start your own venture firm. That’s the advice that one of the industry’s first female VCs, Kathryn Gould, gave to other women, and it came to mind yesterday as I watched an interview given to journalist Emily Chang this week by longtime Sequoia Capital investor Michael Moritz.

Chang asked Moritz about Sequoia’s responsibility to hire women, as Sequoia has no female investment partners on its U.S. investment team.

Adjusting his collar uncomfortably, Moritz said he’d like to think that the firm is “blind to somebody’s sex, to their religion, to their background.” He added that there is, in his view, a pipeline problem to explain the dearth of women at Sequoia. “I think the issue begins in our high schools, and where women particularly in America and also in Europe, tend to elect not to study the sciences when they’re 11 or 12. So suddenly the hiring pool is much smaller.”

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Until Death Do Us Part: Will Your Business Die With You? | All Business

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What is the value of your company without you? If you are a sole proprietor or partner in a fairly small or family-owned business, you can be sure that a great part of your enterprise’s value is what you bring with you to work every day.

Your company’s worth hinges on your knowledge, connections, experience, and reputation. This means that many people, including your employees, customers, and family members, depend upon you.

Since most companies are not completely liquid investments, it is likely that without you, these dependents would need some cash to fill the void.

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You’re Probably Not Rich Enough to Opt Out of the Internet | WIRED

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LAST MONTH AT the Techonomy conference in Half Moon Bay, California, a group of technologists explored the ethics of developing web services in the age of artificial intelligence. How much do people really understand about the information they’re giving up in return for a service, an audience member asked, and can they choose not to give up that data?

The question was met, at first, with a quizzical silence. Data is the fuel that makes the Internet work. Without it, online services aren’t as personal, or as useful. Then someone on the panel remarked that, of course, a user has to give up data, but it’s her choice. She could choose, instead, to opt out.

But could she? Can anyone?

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Women to Be Allowed in All U.S. Combat Positions, Pentagon Says | Bloomberg

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Women will be allowed in all combat positions throughout the U.S. military, ending decades of exclusion from front-line jobs, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Thursday.

“To succeed in our mission of national defense, we cannot afford to cut ourselves off from half the country’s talents and skills,” Carter told reporters at the Pentagon.

The change, which will be implemented within 30 days, will open almost 220,000 reconnaissance, infantry, and special-operations positions that were not previously available to women. Women will have access to any position in the armed services whose requirements they can fulfill, Carter said.

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4 Reasons Your Business Has Stopped Growing | Inc.com

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Running a company that exclusively serves the small business market has provided me with countless opportunities to get inside the head of small-business owners.

Many of these small-business owners are essentially in the process of launching a startup. They’re bootstrapped, hustling for every dime of revenue and trying to unlock the secrets to consistent growth.

The harsh reality is that a lot of startups launch, have a little success early on, but then simply stop growing. I’ve come across countless business owners who seem to make the same mistakes over and over again when it comes to growth. Here are four to avoid.

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New laws force police to put guns back on the street | CNN Money

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Every year, police officers seize tens of thousands of rifles, shotguns, machine guns and other firearms from criminals across the country. While many agencies destroy these weapons, a growing number of police departments are selling them instead. And it’s not always by choice.

Since 2009, at least 11 states have passed laws that either encourage or require police departments to sell seized or recovered guns — with some banning police from destroying guns altogether, according to an exclusive CNNMoney analysis of state laws.

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Toys R Us is closing its flagship store | Business Insider

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Toys R Us is closing its iconic flagship store in New York City’s Times Square at the end of this month.

The retailer is not renewing its lease on the 110,000-square-foot store, which features a giant indoor Ferris wheel, a life-size Barbie dollhouse, and a 20-foot Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur, CNN Money reports.

“It is certainly bittersweet,” Toys “R” Us CEO Dave Brandon told CNN Money, referring to the rush of shoppers in the store for the final Black Friday at the Times Square location.

We reached out to Toys “R” Us and will update when we hear back.

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Areas of the Law that Every Start Up Should Be Aware Of | The Startup Magazine

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downloadYou have an innovative, perhaps even ground-breaking idea. Maybe you are also lucky enough to have a co-founder or have secured substantial investment and are about to go ahead with the start-up dream….but STOP. Do you know the legal implications or requirements that you should be taking heed of? Unbelievably, many young businesses move forward founding a business without consulting a solicitor. Simple mistakes that were made in the early days can become the very reason that yours business fails; Peterborough based law firm Taylor Rose offer to cast some light on the shadowy areas of the law that you should be aware of!

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