Whether or not you like Obama's health care reforms, the resulting law is (still) in effect, and it is beginning to have tangible financial impacts on business -- impacts that you should be aware of.

The new health care reform law gives a tax credit to certain small employers that provide health care coverage to their employees, effective with tax years beginning in 2010. And which small employers are eligible for the tax credit? According to the IRS, (1) the employer must have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees (“FTEs”) for the tax year, (2) the average annual wages of its employees for the year must be less than $50,000 per FTE, and (3) the employer must pay the premiums under a “qualifying arrangement.” As with many tax-related questions, the definition of "qualifying arrangement" is not quite as simple as A-B-C. In fact, I personally suggest you talk with your CPA to find out if you qualify (and if you don't what you need to do to qualify). 

It's no secret that Obama's health care reforms were not embraced by the majority of Americans -- in fact, according to a Rasmussen poll of likely voters conducted a week ago, 56 percent of respondents said that they favored repeal of the new health reform law. This is major, and it is going to have a significant impact on the coming November mid-term elections. And the outcome of these elections will have policy (and thereby financial) impacts on small businesses for years to come.