As
discussed on the Blog
on December 5, 2014, yet again, the Federal Government announced another delay
in a compliance date for small businesses regarding The Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act. The Treasury received
many requests to offer more time for small businesses to comply with the law
and in an effort to work with the small businesses, compromises where
made. “While about 96 percent of
employers are not subject to the employer responsibility provision, for those
employers that are, we will continue to make the compliance process simpler and
easier to navigate,” said Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Mark J. Mazur to Bloomberg.
In
addition to postponing the compliance date, an announcement of weakened requirements
for complying with the law was made.
Small businesses that employ between 50 and 100 full-time workers are
now exempt from complying with the mandate until 2016. A full-time worker is defined as an individual
who works more than 30 hours per week. If
a business claims that it is now eligible for the 2016 delay, the business must
certify that it has less than 100 full-time workers and that it did not reduce
its workforce merely to qualify for this new extension. Those businesses that are not truthful
regarding this statement will suffer the penalties of perjury.
Those
businesses that have 100 or more full-time workers must still comply with the
mandate by 2015 and if they do not comply with the mandate by 2015 than the
businesses could face financial penalties of at least $2,000 per worker and
even up to $3,000 per worker. However, The
Treasury Department did relax the requirements for those businesses as
well. Those companies that have 100 or
more full-time workers must make affordable insurance coverage available to only
70 percent, rather than 95 percent of those workers by 2015. Previously, the requirement was that 95
percent of full-time workers be offered affordable health coverage by 2015. Nevertheless, those same business will have
to offer affordable insurance to 95 percent of its full time workers by 2016. We will keep you informed of any more changes or delays made to The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
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