Tax Guru Helps Fletcher Library Job Seekers Ponder Self-Employment

On most Wednesdays, the J.V. Fletcher Library helps those looking to gain employment. But that isn’t always the case.

Earlier this month, Massachusetts Society of CPA representative and self-employment tax specialist Carol McNeil was featured as a speaker in the library’s Job Seekers Network program.

While normally the group aims at providing services for those seeking to find new employment, McNeil’s presentation was geared toward everything audience members might need to know if they decide that the best employer might just be themselves.

Through her work with the CPA Society and Price Waterhouse Cooper in Boston, McNeil has seen an increasing trend of self-employment. That trend manifested itself the reaction to her presentation by the group at the library, many of whom have already begun limited self-employment while trying to find new jobs.

“The questions were really good,” said McNeil. “Hopefully the material was on point to what (the job seekers’) concerns were, but some people actually knew a lot about the information I was giving them. Hopefully I was able to fill in the gaps. “

One of those who have begun to seek self-employment as an answer to difficulties in finding a job is Thomas Faria, a facilitator with the Job Seekers Network.

Faria, a Windows Systems Analyst, has been struggling to find a new job for the past 15 months.

On the morning of McNeil’s presentation, Faria was turned down for another job he interviewed for, and often he finds that he cannot find assistance with job placement centers in the area due to the sheer amount of people still looking for work.

While the overall unemployment rate in Westford is still significantly lower than elsewhere, for Faria, self-employment may be one of the best options in the short term. And on that note, his attention was piqued by what he heard during the presentation, at least in terms of what he’d need to know in terms of taxes.

“This was a good presentation. I’ve always toyed around with the idea of doing self-employment, and this was just another thing to help me figure out if I want to do that,” he said. “I’m looking for a new avenue of things to do.”

While McNeil provided information for those interested in self-employment, apparently the interest had already been in place before the presentation had begun, with several Job Seekers members beginning self-employment in fields ranging from catering to law. Faria may now soon join that list with a focus on computer repair.

“There’s always somebody here who’s thinking, especially somebody like me who’s been here for so long,” he said. “The seed gets planted every two or three months, and it is something to consider.”

More information is available on the Job Seekers Network is available on the J.V Fletcher website.