Hinton provides overview of business regulations
Wade Hinton, assistant Secretary of State, External Affairs, was keynote speaker at the first quarterly luncheon at the Byhalia Area Chamber of Commerce, March 27, held at Country Bull Events in Byhalia.
Hinton discussed how the secretary of state partners with industry and business leaders to promote economic growth and oversee legislative affairs.
Hinton lives in DeSoto County with his family.
He has 16 years in secondary education and seven years in ministerial work. He is a graduate of Bellhaven University where he received a bachelors in Math and Secondary education. He holds a graduate degree in mathematics from Ole Miss and an educational leadership degree from Lamar University.
He said the duties of his office are to help businesses meet state regulations.
His office works to regulate a myriad of businesses, such as scrap metal, private cemeteries, athletic agencies, charities, public lands and 16th Section lands, tidelands, and casino leases.
His office handles about $12 billion yearly on leases, he said.
He described his official duties as a catch all for the Secretary of State.
“I'm the guy who gets things that don't fit clearly,” he said.
He guarantees anyone who calls his office “will get connected to a warm body.” Hinton provided an overview of business activity in the Byhalia area. His office covers non-profit compliance, and serves as a business development resource.
He said each week between 1,000 and 1,200 new businesses come on line from all over the state.
The largest number of new businesses in recent years was 66,093 in 2021, with a low in 2019 of 31,918, and 47,882 in 2024. In 2013, Mississippi led the nation in new businesses.
He said DeSoto County and Byhalia are doing better than the rest of the state in new business startups with about 1,100 registered in 2020.
New industries and corporations are higher in number than LLCs in Byhalia.
“Construction is the No. 1 type in Byhalia with real estate coming in second.
“Byhalia reaches from Mt. Pleasant to Lewisburg zip codes and is not restricted to the city limits in the city's registered businesses,” he said.
To find out how to start up a business, guests can find what they need to know on Mississippi BOSS website – Business One Stop Shop.
The BOSS website provides business services and regulations – tools used of businesses including searching for business entities, filing documents and assessing reports.
The Mississippi Small Business Development Center helps individuals develop their businesses. One-on-one counseling is available on MSSBDC which works with individuals wanting to start up a small business.
He warned businesses not to get in the trouble with the Department of Revenue office, which he said has more severe consequences than the Internal Revenue Service.
Annual filings are required of charitable non-profits, he said. If you are asking people for funds and take donations, your organization may be a a charitable organization, he said..
Annual reporting to the Secretary of State is required for all Mississippi non-profits that are not a charity.