The fourth quarter is arguably the most important time of the year for a small business owners — it’s when they should be doing year-end tax planning and looking ahead to 2007. Capital spending, hiring plans and employee compensation
should all be items on the agenda.

There can be a heavy price, and not just in taxes, to be paid early in the new year, if you haven’t looked at your books and thought about how your company is likely to fare for the rest of 2006 and into early next year.

Now is the time to be thinking about capital spending. Many owners are anxious to take advantage of what’s known as the Section 179 deduction, which allows a small business to deduct up front rather than depreciate over time the cost of certain kinds of equipment bought and put into service during the tax year.