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Mike Thrift

Marketing Manager

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Chicago's Amusement Tax in 2026: What Venues, Streamers, and Ticket Sellers Must Collect

Chicago's amusement tax runs on three tracks in 2026 — 9% on live admissions, 10.25% on streaming and paid TV, 3% on registered ticket resales — plus a new 10.25% sports wagering tax and a $0.50 per-user monthly social media levy above 100,000 Chicago consumers. Here are the rates, the limits of the 1,500-seat exemption, the $100,000 remote-seller safe harbor, and the filing deadlines that trigger assessments.

mike

tax-compliancetaxsmall-business

China's New VAT Law Doubled the Small-Seller Exemption: What the RMB 1,000 Threshold Means for You

China's first VAT Law took effect January 1, 2026, doubling the per-transaction exemption for individuals to RMB 1,000 while keeping the RMB 100,000 monthly and RMB 300,000 quarterly thresholds — and forcing six categories of individual income to aggregate monthly instead. Here is how the thresholds work, why a supplier's VAT status can flip month to month, and what foreign-invested buyers should change in their contracts.

mike

vatinternational-taxtax-compliance

Circle Q2 2026: $701M of Reserve Income, and a $530M Swing That Wasn't Operations

Circle's Q2 2026 total revenue and reserve income was $701.3M (+7% YoY), with net income from continuing operations of $48.2M — a $530M YoY swing explained by last year's $503.4M IPO stock-compensation charge rolling off, not USDC demand. Period-end USDC circulation fell to $73.3B from $77.0B, distribution partners kept 58.8% of revenue, and ~$242M of ARC Token presale proceeds sit as deferred revenue ahead of the September 16 Arc mainnet, all reconstructed in Circle's public Beancount ledger.

mike

financial-reportingfinancial-analysisbeancount

Colorado's Honest Pricing Law Is Now in Effect: What HB25-1090's All-In Price Rule Means for Your Business

Colorado's HB25-1090 took effect January 1, 2026, requiring any business that advertises a price to Colorado customers to show the maximum total including every mandatory fee, displayed more prominently than any other price. Violations are deceptive trade practices under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act — up to $20,000 per violation, treble damages in private suits, and 18% compounded interest on unlawful rental fees.

mike

junk-feesall-in-pricingpricing-transparency

CrowdStrike FY2027 Q2 Earnings: $5.84B ARR Against $1.47B of Recognized Revenue

CrowdStrike's FY2027 Q2 (ended July 31, 2026) posted $1.47 billion of revenue (+26%), record net new ARR of $333 million (+51%), and ending ARR of $5.84 billion, with GAAP net income turning positive at $5.3 million. Deferred revenue of $4.84 billion and RPO of $10.7 billion show where the ARR lives before the income statement recognizes it — asserted line by line in a public Beancount ledger.

mike

crowdstrikeopen-ledgerfinancial-analysis

Customs Bonds for New Importers: When a Single-Entry Bond Beats a Continuous Bond

A U.S. continuous customs bond must be at least $50,000 or 10% of the prior year's duties, taxes, and fees, whichever is greater, while a single-entry bond equals shipment value plus estimated duties and fees. This guide shows where the break-even falls (about four entries a year), why ocean freight needs a separate ISF bond, and how to book duties, MPF, HMF, and bond premiums as landed cost.

mike

customstariffstrade-finance

Czech Employers Must Register New Hires Before Their First Day: What Changed on July 1, 2026

From July 1, 2026, Czech employers must register every new hire with the ČSSZ before the employee starts work — the old eight-day post-start window is gone. This guide covers the partial-registration option for Czech workers, the stricter foreign-worker rules, the JMHZ monthly report behind the change, penalties up to CZK 10 million, and a seven-step onboarding checklist.

mike

payrollcompliancehiring

Dick's Sporting Goods FY2026 Q2 Earnings: The First Full Foot Locker Quarter After a $2.5B Deal

DICK'S Sporting Goods FY2026 Q2: net sales $5,587M (+53% on the first full Foot Locker quarter), net income $315M (−17%), diluted EPS $3.50 (−26%) on ~9.6M deal shares. DICK'S Business comps grew +4.9% with World Cup lift while Foot Locker pro forma comps fell −3.6%; goodwill of $837M, intangibles of $763M, and up to $750M of contemplated unproductive-asset charges track the $2.5B integration — all in a public Beancount ledger spanning FY2021–FY2026Q2.

mike

dicks-sporting-goodsmergers-and-acquisitionsfinancial-reporting

Dollar General FY2026 Q2 Earnings: $550M Profit on a 127 bp Margin Bridge

Dollar General FY2026 Q2: net sales $11.29B (+5.2%), same-store sales +3.5% on traffic +2.0%, and net income $550M (+33.8%). Roughly 81 of the 127 basis points of gross-margin expansion to 32.6% came from tariff refunds after reinvestments, diluted EPS of $2.48 includes an estimated $0.25 refund benefit, and full-year net-sales growth guidance was raised to 4.0%–4.3% — all tracked in a public Beancount ledger spanning FY2021–FY2026Q2.

mike

dollar-generalfinancial-reportingfinancial-analysis
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