For most building service contractors (BSCs) and other cleaning industry professionals, April 15 means one thing: the day tax returns are filed.
 
However, many may not realize that filing a tax return costs a lot more than just money. And, because many BSCs are mom-and-pop operations, it can significantly impact them and other small businesses more so than a large corporation.
 
Why? It all comes down to the complexity of the tax process and the time it takes to prepare a return and meet tax guidelines.
 
For instance:   
• The biggest burden isn't necessarily the actual taxes owed. According to a survey by the Taxpayer Advocate Services (TAS), 56 percent say "it's the administrative burden and not the financial burden" of the tax process that is most bothersome.    
• Another contributing factor is the paperwork related to compliance. More than half of small businesses pay more than $5,000 per year (in time and money) to deal with tax paperwork and compliance issues.   
• Almost two-thirds of small businesses spend 40 hours or more per year dealing with Federal tax issues.   
• Small businesses spend as much as 65 percent more in resources-dollars and time-to address tax compliance issues per employee.

"We can only hope that our government will one day streamline the tax filing process," says Michael Schaffer, a senior executive with  Tacony's floor care division and president of Tornado Industries. "As the statistics show, it could really make tax filing and compliance easier for BSCs and other small businesses."