Obamacare Small Business Tax Credit For Health Care: Companies ...

If the IRS wants to say the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit is a total fail, it has a funny way of saying it.

Last spring, the IRS went on a PR blitz to promote the tax credit, reaching out to employers with a YouTube video, Q&As, informational flyers and more. And in September, the IRS testified before Congress that the agency had taken every step possible to promote the Obamacare health care tax credit to small business employers.

But according to the conservative tax policy group Americans for Tax Reform, those actions are actually the agency's veiled way of passing the buck. In a recent op-ed in the conservative publication Heartlander, the tax group blasted the IRS' testimony, saying, "In Washington, D.C.-speak, that can be summed up rather succinctly: 'When this fails, don't blame us.'?

It's true that the tax credit has failed to attract many takers. It is estimated that between 1.4 million and 4 million small businesses are eligible, but last May the Government Accountability Office reported that only 170,300 firms actually claimed the credit in 2010, according to The New York Times.

Between 2010 and 2013, the credit allows eligible companies to collect a refund of 35 percent of health insurance expenses. After 2014, that tax credit jumps to 50 percent. The 50 percent credit can be used for any two consecutive years, The New York Times reported.

But all things considered, those tax savings won't add up to much for small businesses, according to a new report released this week from the policy think tank Urban Institute. The report showed that for small businesses with fewer than 100 employees, Obamacare rules save them a whopping 1.4 percent in employer costs when the regulations are fully implemented.

While any savings are savings, applying for the credit may be too much of a headache for small businesses to undertake for such a small gain. The GAO found in its report earlier this year that applying for the credit could take between six and eight hours of tax prep time.

So what's the lesson here? It's not that small business owners have mixed feelings about Obamacare (we knew that already).

The lesson of this story is that time is money. Small business' lackluster response suggests eight hours of work just isn't worth the meager cost savings. In the case of the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, the GAO suggested that the credit was simply not a large enough incentive for small business owners to reach out for the tax relief.

• 10. France

  Total expenditure on health per capita: $3,978 Expenditure as % of GDP: 11.8% (3rd most) Annual growth of total health expenditure: +2.7% (18th most) Life expectancy: 81.5 years (8th highest) Source: <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/03/29/countries-that-spend-the-most-on-health-care/#ixzz1qWtpJfhZ" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St. </a>

• 9. Germany

  Total expenditure on health per capita: $4,218 Expenditure as % of GDP: 11.6% (4th most) Annual growth of total health expenditure: +4% (15th most) Life expectancy: 80.3 years (18th highest) Source: <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/03/29/countries-that-spend-the-most-on-health-care/#ixzz1qWtpJfhZ" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St. </a>

• 8. Austria

  Total expenditure on health per capita: $4,298 Expenditure as % of GDP: 11% (8th most) Annual growth of total health expenditure: +2.2% Life expectancy: 80.4 years (16th highest) Source: <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/03/29/countries-that-spend-the-most-on-health-care/#ixzz1qWtpJfhZ" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St. </a>

• 7. Denmark

  Total expenditure on health per capita: $4,348 Expenditure as % of GDP: 11.5% (6th most) Annual growth of total health expenditure: +6% (11th most) Life expectancy: 79.0 years (25th highest) Source: <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/03/29/countries-that-spend-the-most-on-health-care/#ixzz1qWtpJfhZ" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St. </a>

• 6. Canada

  Total expenditure on health per capita: $4,478 Expenditure as % of GDP: 11.3% (7th most) Annual growth of total health expenditure: +7.4% (7th most) Life expectancy: 80.7 years (tied for 12th highest)

• 5. Luxembourg

  Total expenditure on health per capita: $4,808 Expenditure as % of GDP: 7.8% (7th least) Annual growth of total health expenditure: +8% (6th most) Life expectancy: 80.7 years (tied for 12th highest) Source: <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/03/29/countries-that-spend-the-most-on-health-care/#ixzz1qWtpJfhZ" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St. </a>

• 4. Netherlands

  Total expenditure on health per capita: $4,914 Expenditure as % of GDP: 12% (2nd most) Annual growth of total health expenditure: +16.4% (the most) Life expectancy: 80.6 years (14th highest) Source: <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/03/29/countries-that-spend-the-most-on-health-care/#ixzz1qWtpJfhZ" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St. </a>

• 3. Switzerland

  Total expenditure on health per capita: $5,344 Expenditure as % of GDP: 11.6% (5th most) Annual growth of total health expenditure: +2.8% (17th most) Life expectancy: 82.3 years (2nd highest) Source: <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/03/29/countries-that-spend-the-most-on-health-care/#ixzz1qWtpJfhZ" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St. </a>

• 2. Norway

  Total expenditure on health per capita: $5,352 Expenditure as % of GDP: 9.6% (16th most) Annual growth of total health expenditure: +8.4% (4th most) Life expectancy: 81.0 years (10th highest) Source: <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/03/29/countries-that-spend-the-most-on-health-care/#ixzz1qWtpJfhZ" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St. </a>

• 1. United States

  Total expenditure on health per capita: $7,960 Expenditure as % of GDP: 17.4% (the most) Annual growth of total health expenditure: +2.2% (14th least) Life expectancy: 78.2 years (27th highest) Source: <a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/03/29/countries-that-spend-the-most-on-health-care/#ixzz1qWtpJfhZ" target="_hplink">24/7 Wall St. </a>

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/11/obamacare-small-business-tax-credit-health-care_n_1959138.html

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