Powell's endorsement of Obama

[_LifeOnaPlate]

Obama's health care proposals will hurt small business? How so?

[_antishock8]

Obama's health care proposals will hurt small business? How so?

Small businesses are considered "persons" when they're incorporated. The tax increase, and the health insurance increase on premiums are going to cut into their profit margins... ie... incentive to continue to be a small business. In other words, if after a fiscal year, a small business owner pulls a gross profit of 250,000 per year, but a net profit of 60,000 a year his incentive to put in 80/week is decreased. He closes his business when just the year before he was pulling in 80k net. In other words, if some plumber, gift shop owner, builder, wedding planner, or whatever loses a net gain of 15k per year due to B.O's tax increases he or she will most likely close shop because he or she just doesn't want to be a slave to his or her small business.

[_asbestosman]

I don't know why people can't understand that greed is often good for the economy. It encourages innovation, and hard work. That's not to say that greed should go unchecked (monopolies, externalities in costs, domino effects of defaulting banks on the economy, etc.).

[_Jason Bourne]

Obama's health care proposals will hurt small business? How so?

He mandates health coverage or payment of penalty if the business does not provide it.

[_Some Schmo]

Obama's health care proposals will hurt small business? How so?

Small businesses are considered "persons" when they're incorporated. The tax increase, and the health insurance increase on premiums are going to cut into their profit margins... ie... incentive to continue to be a small business. In other words, if after a fiscal year, a small business owner pulls a gross profit of 250,000 per year, but a net profit of 60,000 a year his incentive to put in 80/week is decreased. He closes his business when just the year before he was pulling in 80k net. In other words, if some plumber, gift shop owner, builder, wedding planner, or whatever loses a net gain of 15k per year due to B.O's tax increases he or she will most likely close shop because he or she just doesn't want to be a slave to his or her small business.

I wonder if you understand the difference between "revenue", "gross profit" and "net profit" (at least, you seem to be using them incorrectly here). Revenue is how much money is made from all transactions. Gross profit is how much is made by reselling raw materials into a finished product. Net profit would be how much is earned after indirect overhead.

In order to have a gross profit of over $250 K, assuming a 5% net profit margin for say, a restaurant (which is about what restaurants shoot for), they would have to have revenues of 5 million dollars. That means the restaurant would have to pull in an average of about $13,700 a day. That's a pretty damn successful restaurant right there.

Your example is not representative of the plan. Businesses get to write off all their expenses, so in your example, this business would be taxed at the rate for having netted $60 K, not $250 K, and they would see no increase due to Obama's plan.

[_LifeOnaPlate]

Obama's health care proposals will hurt small business? How so?

Small businesses are considered "persons" when they're incorporated. The tax increase, and the health insurance increase on premiums are going to cut into their profit margins... ie... incentive to continue to be a small business. In other words, if after a fiscal year, a small business owner pulls a gross profit of 250,000 per year, but a net profit of 60,000 a year his incentive to put in 80/week is decreased. He closes his business when just the year before he was pulling in 80k net. In other words, if some plumber, gift shop owner, builder, wedding planner, or whatever loses a net gain of 15k per year due to B.O's tax increases he or she will most likely close shop because he or she just doesn't want to be a slave to his or her small business.

Are you arguing that Barack Obama will require small businesses to provide health care?

[_LifeOnaPlate]

Your example is not representative of the plan. Businesses get to write off all their expenses, so in your example, this business would be taxed at the rate for having netted $60 K, not $250 K, and they would see no increase due to Obama's plan.

What a mavericky response.

[_LifeOnaPlate]

Obama's health care proposals will hurt small business? How so?

He mandates health coverage or payment of penalty if the business does not provide it.

In regards to small businesses? Incorrect. Go review the third presidential debate and Obama's proposals again.

[_Some Schmo]

Your example is not representative of the plan. Businesses get to write off all their expenses, so in your example, this business would be taxed at the rate for having netted $60 K, not $250 K, and they would see no increase due to Obama's plan.

What a mavericky response.

Ouch. That hurt. Next you'll accuse me of watching FOX news for all my information.

*hides his McCain/Palin pin under his mattress*

[_Yoda]

This is taken from Obama's health plan:

(3) TAX CREDITS FOR FAMILIES AND SMALL BUSINESSES. Barack Obama and Joe Biden understand that too
many families that do not qualify for public health programs like Medicaid and SCHIP have trouble finding
affordable health insurance. They know from talking to small business owners across the nation that the
skyrocketing cost of healthcare poses a serious competitive threat to America’s small businesses. The Obama-
Biden health care plan will provide tax credits to all individuals who need it for their premiums. They will also
create a new Small Business Health Tax Credit to provide small businesses with a refundable tax credit of up to
50 percent on premiums paid by small businesses on behalf of their employees. To be eligible for the credit,
small businesses will have to offer a quality health plan to all of their employees and cover a meaningful share
of the cost of employee health premiums.

(4) EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION. Large employers that do not offer meaningful coverage or make a meaningful
contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees will be required to contribute a
percentage of payroll toward the costs of the national plan. Small businesses will be exempt from this
requirement.

The only thing that's confusing is that there doesn't seem to be a definition for "meaningful contribution". How will that number be determined?