I hope you all are enjoying the Holiday Season.
We are right at the fiscal cliff. As you know Washington is looking at ways to reduce debt . Almost everyone agrees it will be a combination of cuts and additional revenues. One of the most intriguing ideas being floated is eliminating the deduction for health insurance. I think this would raise more revenue than any other change in the tax laws. About half of the people in the country receive this tax break.
It is estimated that it would raise $150 billion a year or $1.5 trillion over 10 years. The mortgage deduction if eliminated would raise $90 billion over one year or $900 billion over 10 years. What do you think of this? If you are providing health insurance would this have any bearing on your keeping your insurance in place as you would have an added burden of paying the payroll tax.
On Friday my niece and I will be travelling to Charleston for the annual Renaissance weekend. This is an amazing event that brings together about 1400 people from all walks of life. Included will be business people, labor, politicians ,scientist, people in the media, astronauts, writers , military people, health professionals and others from all walks of life.
In past events the President of the US has been in attendance and Bill and Hillary Clinton have been there many times. It is hosted by Phil Lader who is a close friend of the Clintons. I met him when he headed up the SBA and when he was Ambassador to the Court of St James he invited me to attend a transatlantic conference in London.
This is such a thrill for a small business owner like myself and my niece who recently started teaching at Mc George law school in Sacramento.
Have a great and healthy New Year.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
Wellness/Medical/Bay Area Economy
Wellness Programs are going to become a promoted feature in 2014 when the Affordable Care Act and the Exchange are put in place. The fee paid up front to partake in a Wellness Program brings the hope of reduced premiums in the future due to closer attention paid to an individual’s overall health.
Is this something your company would be interested in doing? Do you have a wellness program in place now?
It was expected that California would expand Medical in 2014 per the Affordable Care Act. This provision would expand Medical to make it available to people with incomes of 133% [ you may also see quoted 138% and both are right depending on how the calculation is done]Governor Brown is now indicating California may choose not to increase the eligibility due to a $4 billion cost to the state unless California is given waivers and law changes.
Those supporting the expansion say the Governors cost estimates are greatly overstated as the Federal government will be picking up most of the cost. They say the Federal government will pick up 100% of the cost the first three years and then phase down to 90%. Anthony Wright executive director of Health Access says the cost would be in the low hundreds of millions over several years
This will be a major issue between now and 2014.
For those of you in the Bay Area what do you see happening to the Bay Area’s economy in 2013? What do you see for your business? My thoughts are that the Bay Area economy should improve overall but small business opinions vary by industry.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Is this something your company would be interested in doing? Do you have a wellness program in place now?
It was expected that California would expand Medical in 2014 per the Affordable Care Act. This provision would expand Medical to make it available to people with incomes of 133% [ you may also see quoted 138% and both are right depending on how the calculation is done]Governor Brown is now indicating California may choose not to increase the eligibility due to a $4 billion cost to the state unless California is given waivers and law changes.
Those supporting the expansion say the Governors cost estimates are greatly overstated as the Federal government will be picking up most of the cost. They say the Federal government will pick up 100% of the cost the first three years and then phase down to 90%. Anthony Wright executive director of Health Access says the cost would be in the low hundreds of millions over several years
This will be a major issue between now and 2014.
For those of you in the Bay Area what do you see happening to the Bay Area’s economy in 2013? What do you see for your business? My thoughts are that the Bay Area economy should improve overall but small business opinions vary by industry.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
FUTA Increase
I have just found out that employers are going to see an increase in their FUTA[unemployment] tax retroactively to Jan 1 2012.
What apparently happened is that the state failed to repay their outstanding Federal Unemployment loan by the due date.
What this means as best as I can tell is the rate prior to this was .6% on the first $7000. In effect the payment per employee will double.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Dear Tax Filing Client,
The US Department of Labor has confirmed that 18 states and the Virgin Islands will pay higher FUTA rates for the 2012 calendar year. Employers in affected states will pay FUTA taxes for the 2012calendar year at a higher rate since the state failed to repay their outstanding federal UI loans by the federal due date. This tax increase is retroactive to January 1, 2012. The information below is from a payroll company Payality. I suggest you talk to your payroll company to see how they will handle this
The increased FUTA taxes will be due along with fourth quarter 2012 federal unemployment tax deposits.
State Net 2012 FUTA Rate
Arizona 0.9%
Arkansas 1.2%
California 1.2%
Connecticut 1.2%
Delaware 0.9%
Florida 1.2%
Georgia 1.2%
Indiana 1.5%
Kentucky 1.2%
Missouri 1.2%
Nevada 1.2%
New Jersey 1.2%
New York 1.2%
North Carolina 1.2%
Ohio 1.2%
Rhode Island 1.2%
Vermont 0.9%
Virgin Islands 2.1%
Wisconsin 1.2%
--
What apparently happened is that the state failed to repay their outstanding Federal Unemployment loan by the due date.
What this means as best as I can tell is the rate prior to this was .6% on the first $7000. In effect the payment per employee will double.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Dear Tax Filing Client,
The US Department of Labor has confirmed that 18 states and the Virgin Islands will pay higher FUTA rates for the 2012 calendar year. Employers in affected states will pay FUTA taxes for the 2012calendar year at a higher rate since the state failed to repay their outstanding federal UI loans by the federal due date. This tax increase is retroactive to January 1, 2012. The information below is from a payroll company Payality. I suggest you talk to your payroll company to see how they will handle this
The increased FUTA taxes will be due along with fourth quarter 2012 federal unemployment tax deposits.
State Net 2012 FUTA Rate
Arizona 0.9%
Arkansas 1.2%
California 1.2%
Connecticut 1.2%
Delaware 0.9%
Florida 1.2%
Georgia 1.2%
Indiana 1.5%
Kentucky 1.2%
Missouri 1.2%
Nevada 1.2%
New Jersey 1.2%
New York 1.2%
North Carolina 1.2%
Ohio 1.2%
Rhode Island 1.2%
Vermont 0.9%
Virgin Islands 2.1%
Wisconsin 1.2%
--
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Jankey v. Lee - State Supreme Court Affirmed the Appelant Court's Decision
A major decision was handed down by the state Supreme Court yesterday in an ADA action. See below. Small Business California along with a few other business organizations file an amicus brief in this action
I've attached the Supreme Court decision. The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeal and held that the prevailing defendant (here a small business in the Mission) in a disability access lawsuit under Cal. Civil Code 55 is entitled to recover his attorney fees and costs defending the action. Specifically, the Court held that Civil Code 55 mandates a fee award to the prevailing party (whether plaintiff or defendant) and that the ADA's more plaintiff-friendly fee shifting provisions (which allow a prevailing defendant to recover fees only if the court determines that the lawsuit was frivolous) do not preempt Civil Code 55's mandatory bilateral fee shifting in a lawsuit where the plaintiff alleges both causes of action.
Jim Emery
Deputy City Attorney
City Hall, Room 375
San Francisco, CA 94102
dd: 415-554-4628
fax: 415-554-4757
jim.emery@sfgov.org
Yesterday I asked if people knew what a filibuster and cloture were in the Senate. It was clear by many of your responses that many of you were not aware of these procedures. Rather than responding to all of you individually let me briefly explain.
A filibuster is a procedure for a minority to prevent a bill from moving forward in the Senate. It allowed Senators to speak as long as they want to prevent a bill from moving forward. It required a two thirds vote to end a filibuster. On 1975 the rules were changed to allow cloture on a bill if there were 60 votes to do so. In many cases filibuster and cloture are used interchangeably. It will be interesting to see if the rules get changed to a simple majority.
As I said yesterday it has been argued that this creates gridlock in the Senate on controversial bills. Both the Republicans and Democrats have used these procedures depending on who is the minority party. One other problem as I see it is that some Senators have used their vote as a bargaining chip to obtain money for their pet projects. This was believed true in the passage of the Affordable Care Act where Senator Ben Nelson was purported to take $45 million for Medicare and Senator Landrieu’s vote was called the Louisiana purchase.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
I've attached the Supreme Court decision. The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeal and held that the prevailing defendant (here a small business in the Mission) in a disability access lawsuit under Cal. Civil Code 55 is entitled to recover his attorney fees and costs defending the action. Specifically, the Court held that Civil Code 55 mandates a fee award to the prevailing party (whether plaintiff or defendant) and that the ADA's more plaintiff-friendly fee shifting provisions (which allow a prevailing defendant to recover fees only if the court determines that the lawsuit was frivolous) do not preempt Civil Code 55's mandatory bilateral fee shifting in a lawsuit where the plaintiff alleges both causes of action.
Jim Emery
Deputy City Attorney
City Hall, Room 375
San Francisco, CA 94102
dd: 415-554-4628
fax: 415-554-4757
jim.emery@sfgov.org
Yesterday I asked if people knew what a filibuster and cloture were in the Senate. It was clear by many of your responses that many of you were not aware of these procedures. Rather than responding to all of you individually let me briefly explain.
A filibuster is a procedure for a minority to prevent a bill from moving forward in the Senate. It allowed Senators to speak as long as they want to prevent a bill from moving forward. It required a two thirds vote to end a filibuster. On 1975 the rules were changed to allow cloture on a bill if there were 60 votes to do so. In many cases filibuster and cloture are used interchangeably. It will be interesting to see if the rules get changed to a simple majority.
As I said yesterday it has been argued that this creates gridlock in the Senate on controversial bills. Both the Republicans and Democrats have used these procedures depending on who is the minority party. One other problem as I see it is that some Senators have used their vote as a bargaining chip to obtain money for their pet projects. This was believed true in the passage of the Affordable Care Act where Senator Ben Nelson was purported to take $45 million for Medicare and Senator Landrieu’s vote was called the Louisiana purchase.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Monday, December 17, 2012
EmailTree/Exchanges/Filibuster/ Insurance
One of the things I use this email tree for is to provide the media with small business contacts around the state. If you are interested in talking to the media on issues that impact small business please let me know. Be sure to provide all your contact information .
December 15 was the deadline for states to indicate their desire to set up Exchanges as outlined in the Affordable Care Act. The numbers I have seen are that 17 states including California will be establishing an Exchange in their state. 30 states have including ,Texas and Florida , indicated that they will not and therefore will be under the Federal Plan. To a large degree the decisions follow party lines with many Republican Governors indicating they will not be doing so. Do you think Do you agree with California’s decision to set up an Exchange?’
The Senate is looking at eliminating the filibuster. As you know legislation in the Senate can be stopped by a filibuster of minority Senators. The issue here is should the Senate be able to pass legislation with 51 votes What do you think of this? The Democrats contend that this would eliminate gridlock and the Republicans believe this would thwart the voice of the minority. Just out of curiosity do you know the difference between Cloture and a filibuster?
Last do you know what is the largest industry in the world? Many think it is oil or maybe the automobile industry. Actually it is insurance which is about $4.6 trillion and 7% of the world’s economy.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
.
December 15 was the deadline for states to indicate their desire to set up Exchanges as outlined in the Affordable Care Act. The numbers I have seen are that 17 states including California will be establishing an Exchange in their state. 30 states have including ,Texas and Florida , indicated that they will not and therefore will be under the Federal Plan. To a large degree the decisions follow party lines with many Republican Governors indicating they will not be doing so. Do you think Do you agree with California’s decision to set up an Exchange?’
The Senate is looking at eliminating the filibuster. As you know legislation in the Senate can be stopped by a filibuster of minority Senators. The issue here is should the Senate be able to pass legislation with 51 votes What do you think of this? The Democrats contend that this would eliminate gridlock and the Republicans believe this would thwart the voice of the minority. Just out of curiosity do you know the difference between Cloture and a filibuster?
Last do you know what is the largest industry in the world? Many think it is oil or maybe the automobile industry. Actually it is insurance which is about $4.6 trillion and 7% of the world’s economy.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Waste in USD Health System/ 10 year debt numbers
The cost of US healthcare is the highest in the world. Our health system cost about 2.8 trillion dollars a year and is about 17.9% of GDP.This might be okay if the results of that spending made us healthier but in many key areas of measurement we are at or close to the bottom[ examples infant mortality and life longevity].
One of the reasons for this is because there is a massive waste of money in people having unnecessary procedures. It is estimated that the US waste $850 billion a year in unnecessary procedures. Things like CT scans MRIs, EKGs,stress test, imaging test, bone density scans and antibiotics.
A number of doctors organizations have come together with Consumer Report to address this issue. They have a campaign called Choosing Wisely. The goal is to make people question the procedures doctors are performing and to understand many of these test are not necessary Now you might think why would doctors do this. Isn’t this a criticism of doctors? The reality is that many times these test are done at the request of the patient.
Not only is this a waste of money but in many cases it can be detrimental to one’s health.
In January or February of next year Choosing Wisely will be putting together a tool kit to help consumers make informed decisions about procedures performed on them. A number of big businesses will be providing this information to their employees. I think that small businesses should also join the campaign and when the tool kit is finalized provide it to their employees. What do you think? Should Small Business California work with California small businesses in getting this information out. For more information on the Google Consumer Report Choosing Wisely.
Maybe it is just me but I get confused when I hear discussions of our debt in terms of 10 years. When did we start using this measurement? I am not saying it is wrong but I would bet there are many like me that also are confused. How about you?
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
One of the reasons for this is because there is a massive waste of money in people having unnecessary procedures. It is estimated that the US waste $850 billion a year in unnecessary procedures. Things like CT scans MRIs, EKGs,stress test, imaging test, bone density scans and antibiotics.
A number of doctors organizations have come together with Consumer Report to address this issue. They have a campaign called Choosing Wisely. The goal is to make people question the procedures doctors are performing and to understand many of these test are not necessary Now you might think why would doctors do this. Isn’t this a criticism of doctors? The reality is that many times these test are done at the request of the patient.
Not only is this a waste of money but in many cases it can be detrimental to one’s health.
In January or February of next year Choosing Wisely will be putting together a tool kit to help consumers make informed decisions about procedures performed on them. A number of big businesses will be providing this information to their employees. I think that small businesses should also join the campaign and when the tool kit is finalized provide it to their employees. What do you think? Should Small Business California work with California small businesses in getting this information out. For more information on the Google Consumer Report Choosing Wisely.
Maybe it is just me but I get confused when I hear discussions of our debt in terms of 10 years. When did we start using this measurement? I am not saying it is wrong but I would bet there are many like me that also are confused. How about you?
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Small Business Advocate/ Joining Small Business California
Yesterday I had a meeting with Barbara Vohrzek the Governors Small Business Advocate and she indicates she is looking at doing some seminars next year and wants to know what topics would be of interest to California small businesses. Some ideas we discussed were the Affordable Care Act[Obamacare] , reducing cost on workers compensation, state programs available to small business etc.
Also, what are best times and length of seminars?
I hope you all find value in these emails. I know all of you are getting end of the year solicitations from organizations and if you are not already a member I hope you will consider joining Small Business California. Consider all the business organizations you belong to is there any that provide the kind of information and advocacy for small business that we do?
Two examples are that we saved California LLCs between $500 million and $1 billion by getting a grandfather clause on SB 323 and were a major factor in the passage of the workers compensation reform bill.
You can join on line at www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org or we can invoice you. The cost is $150 for businesses less than $1 million and $300 for those over $1 million.
Thank you!
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Also, what are best times and length of seminars?
I hope you all find value in these emails. I know all of you are getting end of the year solicitations from organizations and if you are not already a member I hope you will consider joining Small Business California. Consider all the business organizations you belong to is there any that provide the kind of information and advocacy for small business that we do?
Two examples are that we saved California LLCs between $500 million and $1 billion by getting a grandfather clause on SB 323 and were a major factor in the passage of the workers compensation reform bill.
You can join on line at www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org or we can invoice you. The cost is $150 for businesses less than $1 million and $300 for those over $1 million.
Thank you!
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Friday, December 07, 2012
Correction: Fee Charged - 2013 assessment
I sent out an email yesterday with the new fees for 2013 workers compensation.
I was just brought to my attention that the chart I was provided was for self insured and not insured. Please see corrected numbers below. The increase is not 5% but .0008%. I also have found out that the California Insurance Guarantee Association was reduced from .022 to .020. I am sorry for the confusion.
So while rates are going up the fee increase will not be that severe.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
I was just brought to my attention that the chart I was provided was for self insured and not insured. Please see corrected numbers below. The increase is not 5% but .0008%. I also have found out that the California Insurance Guarantee Association was reduced from .022 to .020. I am sorry for the confusion.
So while rates are going up the fee increase will not be that severe.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Fee Charged - 2013 assessment
I just received the new workers compensation fees for 2013. See below. I have talked about workers compensation going up Jan 2013 you will also see fees going up.
If my calculations are right this will add about 5% to your workers compensation premiums on top of the rate increases.
Note the California Insurance Guarantee Association charge is not included but it is expected to be around the same 2.2% maybe a little lower.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Fees Charged for Fiscal Year 2011/2012 Assessments:
• Workers' Compensation Administration Revolving Fund (WCARF)
• Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund (UEBTF)
• Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund (SffiTF)
• Occupational Safety and Health Fund (OSHF)
• Labor Enforcement and Compliance Fund (LECF)
• Workers' Compensation Fraud Account (FRAUD)
Fees Charged for Fiscal Year 2012/2013 Assessments:
• Workers' Compensation Administration Revolving Fund (WCARF)
• Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund (UEBTF)
• Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund (SffiTF)
• Occupational Safety and Health Fund (OSHF)
• Labor Enforcement and Compliance Fund (LECF)
• Workers' Compensation Fraud Account (FRAUD)
If my calculations are right this will add about 5% to your workers compensation premiums on top of the rate increases.
Note the California Insurance Guarantee Association charge is not included but it is expected to be around the same 2.2% maybe a little lower.
Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188
Fees Charged for Fiscal Year 2011/2012 Assessments:
• Workers' Compensation Administration Revolving Fund (WCARF)
• Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund (UEBTF)
• Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund (SffiTF)
• Occupational Safety and Health Fund (OSHF)
• Labor Enforcement and Compliance Fund (LECF)
• Workers' Compensation Fraud Account (FRAUD)
Fees Charged for Fiscal Year 2012/2013 Assessments:
• Workers' Compensation Administration Revolving Fund (WCARF)
• Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund (UEBTF)
• Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund (SffiTF)
• Occupational Safety and Health Fund (OSHF)
• Labor Enforcement and Compliance Fund (LECF)
• Workers' Compensation Fraud Account (FRAUD)
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