In the latest in a long string of delays in enforcing the rules under the health care overhaul, the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that they will wait until summer to start enforcing financial penalties on small businesses that provide so-called Health Reimbursement Arrangements to their employees.
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Feb 19, 2015
Katie Vlietstra, Vice President for Government Relations and Public Affairs for the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-business community, today offered the following reaction to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s announcement that it is delaying the enforcement of the technical guidance issued in September 2013 regarding Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), a key health care tool for America’s smallest employers.
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Feb 18, 2015
The Treasury Department said Wednesday that it would delay enforcement of an Affordable Care Act prohibition relating to standalone health reimbursement arrangements until July 1.
A standalone HRA is an employer-provided benefit that offers participants a spending account to reimburse them for qualified medical expenses. However, in light of the ACA’s ban against health plans with an annual dollar limit on essential benefits, standalone HRAs have been deemed impermissible.
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Feb 18, 2015
With the unstable economy, and more and more companies downsizing or going out of business, people have decided to hang up their 9-5 hats. Job security, what’s that? That, my friends, has seemingly taken a nose dive and fallen by the wayside. Seniority seems to have taken a back seat to the economic downturn. Whether you have decided to become an entrepreneur, start a business, whether that is a small business, a family owned business, a micro business, or you decide to do freelance work, The National Association for The Self-Employed (NASE) commends you, as you should be. NASE offers various resources to assist you with starting a business or building an existing business. In addition, NASE offers advice to help business owners minimize business expenses and much more. Can’t find an answer to a tax question? Ask the NASE Tax Experts here.
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Feb 17, 2015
Q: I am attempting to complete my first Schedule C for my new business and I am not sure what is deductible. Do you have a list of deductible expenses that I can use? A: There are certainly expenses that are common to all small businesses and those that are common to specific industries. Perhaps the best place to start a list of common expenses is right on that same Schedule C that you are preparing to complete. Part II of the Schedule C is titled “Expenses” and provides a great place to start from advertising to car and truck expenses to insurance and interest expense to travel and wages. The fact that the detailed expense items are listed right on the Schedule C indicates those are indeed common expense categories for small business owners.
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Feb 17, 2015
Darci E. McConnell is the President ,of McConnell Communications, Inc. located in Detroit, Michigan has been a NASE member since 2014. Darci joined the NASE after learning about its existence while conducting a search for grants for small businesses (The NASE offers $4,000 Growth Grants to our members). She was also excited to see other benefits for small firms such as growth tips and insurance discounts. As President, Darci is a publicist, crisis manager, entrepreneur, teacher, communicator and mentor. McConnell Communications has served clients large and small, ranging from Fortune 500 firms such as Feld Entertainment and Northwest Airlines to local non-profits such as 100 Black Men of Greater Detroit and the Detroit Branch NAACP.
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Feb 17, 2015
Over 66% of small business owners responding to a new survey conducted by the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) ranked “decreasing monthly premiums” as the one thing they would change about their current health care plan. The survey, conducted October 27, 2014 through January 19, 2015, gauges the opinions of 188 small business owners and self-employed entrepreneurs nationwide on the issue of health care.
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Feb 17, 2015
Tax reform is the Holy Grail of Capitol Hill. It's practically unattainable, but that doesn't keep a lot of people from searching for it. Politicians are talking about tax reform again this year in Washington. That talk, however, largely has been past each other. President Barack Obama suggested some changes that were immediately derided, while Congressional leaders offered other reform possibilities that the president's team disdains.
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Feb 06, 2015
As the American public and millions of small businesses prepare to file their 2014 tax returns, the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-businesses, today released a list of changes to the tax code along with important tips and resources for filing accurate returns.
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Feb 05, 2015
Over 66% of small business owners responding to a new survey conducted by the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) ranked “decreasing monthly premiums” as the one thing they would change about their current health care plan.
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Feb 03, 2015