Tough Questions For Obama About ObamaCare

Forbes magazine just published an interesting article about healthcare comparing what we were told it was compared to apparently what it is. Remember "you don't need to read the bill, just pass it and then you can read it."

If you are interested in health reform, I thought you would be interested in this. I thought that the section on "Is it a tax or is it not a tax" was especially interesting.

Click the link below to read the full story:

http://blogs.forbes.com/merrillmatthews/2010/09/22/tough-questions-for-obama-about-obamacare/?partner=alerts

Larry Kopsa CPA

CAN I STILL GIVE MONEY FROM MY IRA TO THE CHURCH WITHOUT TAX?

In the past I have been able to transfer money directly from my IRA to my church. This was a good deal because I did not have enough itemized deductions. Can I do that again this year?

Howard

Howard this was a good idea for the last couple of years but you will have to wait if you want to be sure that the donation will be tax free.

First a little background. This provision allowed taxpayers that were over 70½ up to $100,000 a year tax free from regular IRAs or Roths. Although this had been a popular tax break, lawmakers allowed it to lapse at the end of 2009 along with other popular easings, such as the sales tax deduction.

We anticipate that the President and Congress will deal with renewing the expiring provisions in the lame-duck session. You will have to wait and see.

IF YOU HAVE AN HSA OR A HEALTH REIBURSEMENT ACCOUNT LISTEN UP

Here is a change that is coming up that you need to be aware of.

If you have cash left in your flex plan or health reimbursement account, consider buying over-the-counter drugs this year. The new health care law provides that for purchases after 2010, flex plans and HRAs can’t reimburse the cost of such medications. Payments are allowed only for prescriptions and insulin.

The same is true for for payouts from health savings accounts and Archer MSAs. There is a limited exception for plans using debit cards. The Internal Revenue will okay over-the-counter drug purchases made with the cards through January 15, 2011 to give debit card issuers a little extra time to reprogram their computer systems.

Don't forget that plans will have to be amended by June 30, 2011 to comply with the rules. The revision must be retroactive to Jan. 1 (or Jan. 15 for plans using debit cards).

Government Declares War On Small Business

Every time you turn around it seems that government is slapping regulation and requirements on small business.

Here are some facts from the Small Business Administration (SBA). Small businesses:

•Represent 99.7% of all employer[s]
•Employ just over half of all private-sector employees
•Pay 44% of total U.S. private payroll
•Have generated 64% of net new jobs over the past 15 years
•Create more than half of the nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP)
•Hire 40% of high-tech workers (such as scientists, engineers and computer programmers)
•Are 52% home-based and 2% franchises
•Made up 97.3% of all identified exporters and produced 30.2% of the known export value in FY 2007.
•Small firms produce 13 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms; these patents are twice as likely as large-firm patents to be among the 1% most cited.

Further, if you look to the Kauffman Foundation, startup firms are the “sole engine” of job creation in the U.S. economy. Kauffman crunched a data set from the Census Bureau covering the years 1977-2005. In all but seven years during that period, existing businesses cut an average 1 million jobs, while firms in existence for a year or less created 3 million

Here is an article from Forbes magazine that summarized the problem.

http://blogs.forbes.com/greatspeculations/2010/09/03/government-declares-war-on-small-business/?partner=alerts

NEBRASKA STILL AN AG STATE

(Nebraska Ag Connection) -- NebraskaAgConnection.com reports, "More than half of rural Nebraskans are one generation or less removed from farming or ranching and more than three-fourths say their economic well-being is at least somewhat tied to agriculture, according to the 2010 Nebraska Rural Poll." See more at

http://www.nebraskaagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=638&yr=2010

FARMERS FEAR EPA CHANGES IN DUST RULES WILL IMPACT AGRICULTURE

(AP/Omaha.com) — The AP is reporting that "wary farmers are watching a debate over whether to clamp down on one of rural life’s constant companions — the dust clouds kicked up by farm machinery in fields and along unpaved roads."

According to the story, "the EPA is reviewing its airborne pollutant standards," and is "looking both at its standards for tiny particles of industrial pollution and for slightly larger particles called 'coarse particulate matter,'" which includes dust. The EPA "is expected to release a final document next month spelling out its options for revising the standards. The EPA plans to announce any proposed changes in February and will likely approve a final updated rule by October 2011."

http://omaha.com/article/20100921/MONEY/709219929#farmers-fear-epa-changes-to-dust-rules-won-t-reflect-rural-life

CLARIFICATION ON DRUG TESTING AND CDL

Recently I posted a note regarding farmers and drug testing. I have had a couple of questions and so we went to the source. We contacted the Nebraska State Patrol and here is their answer.

Larry Kopsa CPA

The information is mostly correct. The way that it works is that anyone driving a vehicle that requires a CDL is also required to be in a drug/alcohol testing program.

Normally anyone who drives a vehicle over 26000 lb gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) for a business (including farms) is required to have a CDL. There is an exemption for farm vehicles operated within 150 mile of the farm. If you drive anything other than a truck-tractor semi-trailer combination you do not need a CDL in that case. The CDL requirements and exemptions can be found on our web site (http://www.statepatrol.nebraska.gov/CDL.aspx).

Part of the federal regulations as adopted in Nebraska law states that any company that operates vehicles which require CDL needs to have a drug/alcohol testing program in place. The federal regulations can be found at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/rules-regulations.htm). Specifically part 382 is the part that talks about this testing.

The best thing to do would be to point anyone with questions to contact the Carrier Enforcement Division headquarters at 402-471-0105.

Let me know if you have any other questions