For businesses, next census right around the corner

You thought the next census was still seven years off? Not if you own one of 23,000 business in Las Vegas.

Companies that received the 2012 U.S. Census Bureau's economic survey starting in October will need to return it by mail or online by Feb. 12 to avoid a $5,000 penalty unless they obtain a 30-day extension.

The local contingent is part of
4 million forms that went out across the country. They're designed to gather economic data for calculating gross national product estimates and for dozens of other reports made public.

"Every large and mid-sized business received one, but only a sampling of small businesses," statistician Kari Klinedinst said during a Thursday webinar the bureau used to promote electronic filing.

She did not define the business categories or say how many forms went to small businesses. But she did say people who are self-employed or working for companies on a contract basis were excluded.

All companies will be asked to report their employee counts, their payroll in dollars and revenues. Other information is tailored to particular sectors, such as how much wholesalers outsource their work or the fuel bills run up by mining companies.

Although the census goes out only every five years, the work involved to fill out the forms can be considerable. Scott Graham, owner of MBI Inc. in Las Vegas, counted 16 pages in his form.

"They have been lying on my desk for a while," he said. "I am just now looking at them."

For MBI, a wholesale distributor of medical equipment to physicians, he is required to answer questions such as method of selling, how his customers break down by certain categories and how much he spends on shipping and handling charges.

"It's unbelievable," he said. "It's kind of like getting tax forms and then you have to try to figure them out. It's frustrating."

Although he expects to fill out the forms out himself, some businesses turn them over to accountants.

However, just filling in any numbers to get the forms done could bring a $10,000 penalty for knowingly furnishing false information.

All told, 34,000 forms were sent out in Nevada. Besides those distributed in Las Vegas, 6,700 went to the Reno area.

Companies with multiple locations must fill out one form for each place.

Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at
toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.