IRS Threatens Employers

CCHF ^ | 1-16-13 | Twila Brase

[TurboZamboni]

The gloves are coming off. We're 11 months from full implementation and the real-world impact of Obamacare is hitting the newswires. Taco Bell and Wendy's just cut the hours of hundreds of employees to avoid the Obamacare employer health insurance mandate. These workers will not only not have health insurance, they will have less money to pay for it and may be forced into Medicaid under the individual mandate.

Now, the Internal Revenue Service is warning employers not to avoid the employer mandate. The IRS issued a 144-page notice which says they will soon issue proposed regulations with "anti-abuse rules."

This means penalties. The IRS intends to penalize any employer who dares to follow the law by finding the Obamacare's legal loopholes and employing perfectly legal tactics to avoid its penalties. These legal tactics are nothing new. But President Obama doesn't like it so he's called out the IRS bloodhounds.

In fact, nothing in the Obamacare law says employers can't cut hours, re-hire, split companies into separate legal entities to shrink the size of the company to the requisite penalty-avoiding 49 employees, or use temporary agencies. As the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) states, "A business can avoid the penalties by firing employees, by not hiring new ones, by replacing full-timers with part-timers, or by outsourcing."

In addition, because Obamacare defines "full-time" as 30 hours/week...

[ExTxMarine]

You continue to pay your employees because it’s the right thing to do, but you don’t take a salary because you’re an honest person.

I owned my own little General Contracting business back in the late 90's and into the early part of the new millennium. Due in part to the dot-com rise and cheap import of immigrant programmers, I was laid off as a programmer (self-taught - no sheep skin kept me from staying in IT). I decided to go back to doing what I did as a kid with my father and brother - construction. It started out with just me doing manual labor and my wife doing paperwork.

Within three years, I had 21 full-time employees and 10-15 part-timers (depending on our jobs) and was making GOOD money. Then the recession really hit home and over the last two years I made less than most of my employees. I finished my last two jobs with just me and two other employees and both of those men made more money than I did!

I was over $87K in debt with NO job, NO income and I was married with four daughters. I was hoping, praying and trying to keep the business open and grow it back. The last hit, the one that made me finally shut my doors: I was hit with an OSHA citation! I had to sell my house to pay my citation so that the government didn't TAKE the house and leave me with NOTHING!

The government does not care about you, me or ANY worker! The government cares about getting every last dollar they can from you, me and EVERY worker!

[ExTxMarine]

The SCOTUS Ruled the Gub'ment can make you pay anything they wish as long as they make it a tax.

This is complete BS! Why did it take a CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT to create the Income Tax then? You would think that a smart man like Roberts could look and see that there are OBVIOUS limits to the taxing powers of the US Government! The REQUIREMENT for an amendment to institute such a grand reach SHOULD be obvious!

And this leads me to the same question for the "War on Drugs!" Why did it take a CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT to enact Prohibition and a CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT to repeal Prohibition? But only 30-40 years later, the US Government (without an amendment) somehow MORPHED into an all encompassing power that allows them to tell Americans what they can do in their own homes with their own bodies!

I truly do not believe that most CONSERVATIVES even understand how far we have fallen from the path of our Founding Fathers! It is SICKENING when you put it all into perspective!

[Adder]

I know that it does. Many of us are week to week not knowing when or if the axe comes.

I merely suggest that some agency...private, of course, can match willing workers with willing employers. The workers are covered under the law yet are able to work enough hours to live.

Its not ideal, by any means. JUst a thought.

[sergeantdave]

South Carolina is getting around all the IRS BS by passing legislation to throw these gestapo pigs into prison for five years if they try to enforce any aspect of obumacare.

Oh, I forgot. These IRS Rambo accountants have bought 2 billion rounds of ammo and will shoot cop-killer bullets out their arses to get us all. At least that’s what I’m hearing from a small group of FR surrender monkeys.

[JoeFromSidney]

The most troubling and difficult task for a prospective bill author or political party is to invent the name of law that is completely the opposite of what the proposed law would do....

Back in the 1920s there was an intellectual movement called "General Semantics." Their goal was to understand and clarify the thinking processes of people. The movement died out around the 1950s. It was still active when I was in college, but I've heard nothing of it since. Among their slogans were "The name is not the object," and "The map is not the territory." If the General Semanticists were still around, they might now say "The title of the law is not its real intent."

[Colinsky]

The late Senator Sam Hayakawa (R, CA) was also an author and expert on General Semantics; his LANGUAGE IN THOUGHT AND ACTION is a classic in the field.

[dragnet2]

In fact, nothing in the Obamacare law says employers can't cut hours, re-hire, split companies into separate legal entities to shrink the size of the company to the requisite penalty-avoiding 49 employees, or use temporary agencies.

Employers have been doing this for 15 years now...

The author of seems to think this is something new.

The author needs to reboot himself.

[DH]

“I actually have trouble sleeping at night because of the disbelief of what my country has become.”

---

You are not alone my FRiend. I too, have lost a lot of sleep over the past several months and feel absolutely helpless since the Republicans don’t have the spine to actually represent and protect our Constitutional rights.

I further lay awake thinking of how helpless we will be to protect our assets when the economy collapses.

[DH]

split companies into separate legal entities to shrink the size of the company to the requisite penalty-avoiding 49 employees, or use temporary agencies.

---

The 50 rule is only the start. Think of it as the camel’s nose under the tent.

Eventually, it will encompass EVERY employee of EVERY business.