Brother Skuder ... great thread, and i agree, we should try understanding this as a community effort ... maybe a blog talk show about it ... i did skim the document but would like to understand it better.
When does it all go into effect?
What exactly does it all mean for us?
I think it's great and wanna learn.
Thanks for sharing!
Love You!
Destee
Peace Destee..
I think you may be the only one right now.. but around Feb/Mar of 2014 when people start doing their taxes for 2013.. and they see whats what, there will suddenly be firestorm of interest by individual citizens in what this bill actually says. The firestorm of interest for employers began immediately because this bill takes effect for the tax year 2013, which means they need to deal with this by January or face potentially crippling penalties.. and in a down economy where folks are really just barely making any additional financial requirements are cause for alarm.. even if it's just about having to understand what you need to do. Contrary to popular believe everyone in business is not a financial wiz.. many just know how to run their business that's it. The large employers are fuming because of this:
That's straight gangster right there. If they don't provide it and a single employee signs up on his own.. like he is required to do by law.. the employer will be charged an assessment equal to the payment made by the employee times the
total number of eligible employees!. That's gangster.. strong-arm style. But you know what's going to happen?... Companies are going to strategize to get rid of fulltime jobs.. and the definition of fulltime in this bill is a person that works 30 hours or more per week. So just like when Bush
removed overtime pay for Managers.. and a whole new class of employees found themselves labeled "Manager".. or "Asst Manager" only to see no overtime increase for hours worked over 40 hours.. just like that.. many many employers will just do away with fulltime workers.. it's a hassle anyway to have full time workers.. folks that previously worked 40 hours will be working 29.. and the insurance burden will then be on them.
My main concern was the requirement on individuals to have to give account for why they don't have insurance. I was primarily worried about the penalties accruing and eventually becoming criminal..and also I was worried about wage garnishment for healthcare penalties. But under Subtitle F, beginning on
page 124, the Bill puts the brakes specifically on all of the criminal penalties and liens and levies.
What that means is the money will be subtracted from any return you were supposed to get. If you are on top of your game, you should be able to avoid penalties.. but it's going to take tax planning to be sure. You can't wait til the end of the year to see if you got it right. It's something you need to actively manage all year. And that's what makes it a burden on the individual citizen. But.. in a culture of convenience, that's what makes it a business opportunity for Tax Planners, Bookkeepers, consultants, Paralegals, etc. I can already see the slew of Ads from Tax Attorneys and H&R Block in my mind. But this won't hit full steam until 2014..
after.. the folks that are going to get blindsided by this, get hit. We can makes sure that we are not among those people by doing just what we're doing here. Read the bill, read about the bill, discuss it, debate it, etc.. just stay on top.
- peace again.