The 10 percent tan tax aside, the health care reform bill is likely to impact many salon owners – whether this year or in the next decade or so – as all its provisions are enacted. According to BusinessWeek, some of the elements small-business owners should be aware of include the following:
•If you have 25 employees or less, pay less than $50,000/year in wages, and cover at least half of your staff’s health insurance premiums, you are eligible for a tax credit now through 2016. The maximum credit for the 2010 to 2013 tax years is 35 percent of the premium; in 2014 it jumps to half the premium cost. For some business owners, this may make it more feasible to consider offering health coverage (which could include their own personal policy).
•More than 95 percent of American businesses have less than 50 employees. Although this excuses them from being fined ($2K per employee) if they don’t provide health insurance by 2014, there are still ramifications to consider.
>Some companies may choose not pursue growth opportunities that would require hiring additional employees. Others may change their corporate structure, such as shifting to more part-time employees or splitting the company into different entities, to avoid nearing the 50-employee mark.
>Although salon owners may not be required to provide health benefits for small staffs, the owners themselves may experience the burden of higher individual taxes linked to the health-care law. This impacts married couples who earn more than $250,000 or singles at the $200,000 level.
•Some employers with smaller workforces anticipate they may offer increased wages to help their staff members cut the expense of purchasing their own coverage. That also brings the benefit of allowing employees to select the options that are right for them, rather than putting the burden of plan selection on the owner.
•The wheels are already in motion to ensure nobody can be denied insurance coverage. This is good news if you’re a self-insured salon owner with a pre-existing condition.
•In four years, states will offer “health exchanges” where business owners and individual consumers can shop for what will likely be lower-priced insurance options. Tens of millions of people are predicted to participate, thereby bringing better premiums to these pools of people than could be achieved individually. Small-business owners are hopeful the exchanges will allow them to obtain rates closer to the discounts offered to larger companies.
Ironically enough, the article points out that it may be cheaper for some business owners to pay the $2,000 per employee fine to not provide health insurance.
Related Article:
How To Reduce Small Biz Health Insurance Cost
Source:
BusinessWeek: How Health-Care Reform Will Affect Small Business
