Health Care Reform is now the law of the land - sort of. While the legislation has been passed by both houses in Congress and signed into law (along with the reconciliation bill), there is still a lot of uncertainty due to; 1 - The sheer size of the bill 2 - The ambiguity of the bill We will be talking about the bill for years to come, but there are a couple of items we want to make you aware of today and briefly mention here; 1 - Beginning in 2011, over the counter (OTC) medications will not be a qualified expense for HSAs, FSAs, or Archer MSAs. 2 - Beginning in 2011, the penalty tax on distributions from HSAs and Archer MSAs that are NOT used on qualified medical expenses will rise from 10% to 20%. 3 - Beginning in 2010, a small employer tax credit begins to be phased in. It is for employers no more than 25 employees. The parameters for the credit are pretty restrictive, but we will be getting more information out on this in the very near future to our group contacts. If you want to make sure you are on the list to receive that information,use the contact link in the next paragraph. These are just a few of the items that have a relatively immediate impact. We will continue to stay on top of this issue and communicate with you as it develops. If you have ANY questions about the reform and what it means to you and your company or family, contact us. |
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TPA Benefits Teams Up With U.S. Small Business Administration
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 TPA Benefits is working with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to put on some seminars for small businesses (imagine that) to inform them about the legislation. Beginning in early June, we will be helping the SBA explain how the legislation will impact small businesses. Look for more details in the days ahead. If you would like for someone to speak to your group or organization, just let us know. |
 It all began in 1913 when the politicians decided they needed an income tax. - At first, they took just 1 percent on incomes between $20,000 and $50,000. Those were big incomes - adjusted for inflation, $50,000 is $1.1 million today.
- The top bracket paid 6 percent, but that only applied to people who earned at least $11 million (today's dollars).
- Anyone who made less than $400,000 (today's dollars) paid no income tax.
- For tax year 2007, the top 5% of taxpayers paid just over 60% of all income taxes. The top 25% paid over 86% of all income taxes. The bottom 50% less than 3% of all income taxes.
- In 1913, the first tax form and instructions totaled four simple pages.
- Compare that to today's 1040 form. With instructions, it totals 176 pages.
- The tax code is now 3,784,745 words long, not counting the 2009 and 2010 changes.
- By comparison,
- Atlas Shrugged, a book that is over 1,100 pages long, is 645,000 words - and well worth the time to read it. I highly recommend it. Very timely for today's world.
- War and Peace is 560,000 words. I cannot vouch for this book.
- Americans spend more than 7 billion hours trying to comply. That is the equivalent of 3.7 million employees working 40-hour weeks year-round without any vacation.
- That's more workers than are employed at the five biggest employers among Fortune 500 companies.
But don't worry. The IRS stands ready to assist the tax paying public. If you need some help beyond the basic form and 176 pages of instructions, the IRS now lists 1,909 publications, forms, and instructions for download (some are duplicates in different languages) from its Web site.
I feel better already. |
We are not advocating a particular tax system, but you have to admit, the current system is a little cumbersome. Years ago I had read somewhere that someone had three suggestions to fix the tax code: - Make members of congress do their own taxes (without any help) and be subject to an audit.
- Eliminate tax withholding. Make everyone have to put aside their tax obligation and send in a check every month or quarter.
- Move Election Day to April 15th.
Each one on its own is a powerful idea. Taken together...  There is also talk occasionally about the idea of a flat tax. Here is a video that discusses a flat tax idea and why they think it is a good idea. While a post card size tax return sounds nice, I have to wonder if there is something missing? |
 When I played baseball as a kid, I was the one who played right field on the 3-15 Reds and prayed no one hit it to me. I tell you that not as a confession of any type, but to let you know that probably my skill set in baseball never was an advantage to me. So when I see what I think is a great play, most people may think, "Oh, that is nothing." That being said, I happened to catch part of Sports Center the other day and saw this video clip of an opening day web gem. Thought it was worth passing along. * Enjoy!
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