By: Joyce Rosenberg, Associated Press, NBCNews.com In 2013, small business owners will contend with many of the same issues that made it hard to run their companies over the last 12 months. They’re also heading into the new year with a lot of uncertainty. It’s unlikely that negotiations in Congress will resolve all of lawmakers’ disagreements over tax and budget issues that affect small businesses. And there are still many questions about the implications of the health care law for small companies. That points to continued caution — and perhaps slow hiring — among the nation’s small companies. “Uncertainty is the bane of every small business,” says Scott Shane, a professor of entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management in Cleveland. “Their only rational response is to pull in their horns and slow down.” Small businesses aren’t likely to get much encouragement from the economy. It’s expected to grow by no more than 3 percent in 2013, according to the Federal Reserve. That’s a moderate pace, better than the 1.7 percent that the economy grew during the first three quarters of 2012. But it’s also far from robust. Here’s a look at some of the issues facing small businesses in the coming year: Taxes Lawmakers are still haggling over what’s called the fiscal cliff, the combination of billions of dollars in tax increases and budget cuts. Even if Congress reaches an agreement, small business owners won’t have the certainty they need, according to Todd McCracken, president of the National Small Business Association, a group that lobbies on behalf of small companies. “It almost surely won’t be comprehensive enough that we won’t be revisiting it next year,” McCracken says. He’s concerned that there’ll be another fiscal cliff in six months — which would mean more negotiations and more uncertainty. Many small business owners are worried about their personal tax rates. Sole proprietors, partners and owners of what are called S corporations, all report the income from their businesses on their individual Form 1040 returns. That means their companies are in effect taxed at personal rates, which can be higher than corporate rates. One of the most important tax provisions for small businesses,...

By: Associated Press, The Washington Post U.S. manufacturing shrank in November to its weakest level since July 2009, one month after the Great Recession ended. Worries about automatic tax increases in the New Year cut demand for factory orders and manufacturing jobs. The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its index of manufacturing conditions fell to a reading of 49.5. That’s down from 51.7 in October. Readings above 50 signal growth, while readings below indicate contraction. Manufacturing grew in October for only the second time since May. The ISM is a trade group of purchasing managers. A gauge of new orders dropped to its lowest level since August, a sign that production could slow in the coming months. Manufacturers also sharply reduced their stockpiles, indicating companies expect weaker demand. “Today’s report suggests that the manufacturing sector is likely to remain a weak point in the recovery for a few months yet,” Jeremy Lawson, an economist at BNP Paribas, said in a note to clients. Stocks declined after the survey was released, giving up early gains. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 12 points in midday trading. Broader indexes rose only slightly. The weak manufacturing survey overshadowed other positives economic reports. Greater home building boosted U.S. construction spending in October by the most in five months. Manufacturing activity in China grew in November for the second straight month. And U.S. auto sales rebounded last month after Superstorm Sandy held sales back in October. U.S. manufacturers are concerned about the “fiscal cliff,” the ISM survey noted. That’s the name for sharp tax increases and government spending cuts that will take effect in January if Congress and the Obama administration fail to strike a budget deal before then. Worries about the fiscal cliff have led many companies to pull back this year on purchases of machinery and equipment, which signal investment plans. The decline could slow economic growth and hold back hiring in the October-December quarter. A measure of hiring in the ISM survey fell to 48.4, the lowest reading since September 2009. Companies “are just backing off and not making any moves until things clear up a bit,” Bradley Holcomb, chairman of the ISM’s...

By: Mark Shortt, Design-2-Part Many issues are at stake as the 2012 U.S. Presidential election approaches. Both candidates for President–the incumbent Pres. Barack Obama and the presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney–know that a healthy and growing U.S. manufacturing sector is vital to the success of the U.S. economy. But only time will tell whose leadership will better enable American manufacturers to thrive. No matter whom you’re supporting, the election will help set the stage for a good deal of political confrontation and, perhaps, compromise on many important policy issues over the next four years. For manufacturers, the question is not so much “Who will win the election?” as it is “Will manufacturing win?” The answer will depend not just on who’s elected President, but on the composition of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Most important, it will hinge on how well the two houses can work together to craft policies that will support manufacturers by lightening corporate tax burdens (especially for companies that are bringing manufacturing operations back to the U.S.), increasing the available pool of qualified workers, strengthening our nation’s resources for research, development, and innovation, and eliminating unfair international trade practices. But in order for manufacturing to win, both houses of Congress will need to work together more effectively to enact legislation that has been shown to have wide public support. An example is H.R. 639, the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, a bipartisan bill that would “crack down on Chinese currency manipulation by giving the United States the power to respond appropriately to unfairly subsidized exports from countries,” such as China, according to a statement released last September by the office of Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who co-authored the Senate version of the bill with Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). The bill seeks to “amend title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 to clarify that countervailing duties may be imposed to address subsidies relating to a fundamentally undervalued currency of any foreign country.” The bad news is that the bill, which has languished in the House since being introduced in February 2011, has only a “2% chance of being enacte,” according to GovTrack.us, an online tool for following legislation...