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my best friend owns a company here on Maui that employs 100 people. He told me a few days ago his company's days are numbered. His book keeping dept told him that soon when Obamacare kicks in this next year he will have to pay an additional $2500 per employee to stay legal. Do the math, that is $250,000 more cost to him next year and he said he has not made a profit in the last two to three years as it is. This will put him under and there will be 100 more people on the unemployment list here on Maui. If this happens all over the US (and it is already started) our whole system will go under. No more America as we knew it. Since Hawaii voted over 70% for Obmama I'm sure a lot of his employees voted TO TGERMINATE THEIR OWN JOBS!!

His book keeping dept told him that soon when Obamacare kicks in this next year he will have to pay an additional $2500 per employee to stay legal

Is that because your friend's company does not provide healthcare to its employees?

my best friend owns a company here on Maui that employs 100 people. He told me a few days ago his company's days are numbered. His book keeping dept told him that soon when Obamacare kicks in this next year he will have to pay an additional $2500 per employee to stay legal. Do the math, that is $250,000 more cost to him next year and he said he has not made a profit in the last two to three years as it is. This will put him under and there will be 100 more people on the unemployment list here on Maui. If this happens all over the US (and it is already started) our whole system will go under. No more America as we knew it. Since Hawaii voted over 70% for Obmama I'm sure a lot of his employees voted TO TGERMINATE THEIR OWN JOBS!!

I have been hearing from a CPA Gnome for the last 3 years how businesses are looking for solutions since they are having trouble being or no longer can be "going forward organizations". The potential solutions range from selling to competitors, selling to someone in a lower-cost state because there are no margins. Sadly, sometimes they close it down, and this is before Obamacare. Hold on to your asses, it is going to get much worse.

I need to start a CPA thread here on FR as to what Fr-er CPA / Tax Professionals are seeing, my guess is it isn't pretty....

Your friend has other options..

1 reduce the work force to less than 50 (I think this is still the case)

2 reduce the existing work force to part time.

He needs to have a heart to heart with his employees and lay it all out.

It seems to me that there are three options to investigate before letting the presumed additional cost shut him down.

- Shift enough employees to part time to get under fifty full time employees. Ask for volunteers, some people will do so. If not enough people volunteer, then try to be as fair as possible, but do it.

- Look to see if putting certain employees on a 1099 contractual basis can be made to work. They're picky about it, don't provide office space, don't do anything for them that could be construed as their being de facto employees, you'll get nailed.

- Look into the cost of shifting employees onto another payroll. This can be an employment agency, a temp agency or another corporate entity with whom you contract for the labor. There are potential minefields here, too so do your due diligence or you'll find yourself in a mess.

Some combination of the above might be workable, too. I feel for him, it's an amazingly stupid situation not of his making, the proverbial rock and a hard place. I can see why a number of company owners would just say the heck with it. Too little reward, too many potential pitfalls.

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