Small business health care credit rant!

We have all heard about the supposed benefits to "small businesses" lately from politicians.

As a CPA and tax professional, please allow me to rant about something that so directly hurts all of my clients. Those business owners who's success I have the deepest passion for and spent my professional life safeguarding.

My Congresswoman, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, has provided a disservice to small business owners by voting for the Health Care Bill. Not only does it NOT benefit small businesses as she claims, it hurts us all financially.

Most, probably in excess of 95% of "small businesses" in her district, are either LLCs, Partnerships, Sole Proprietors, S-Corps or hire family members.

NONE of these "small businesses" will receive one dime of benefit under this law. Zero.

Either Wasserman-Schultz was unaware of this, and should have read the legislation before voting "yes" on it, or she DID know that local businesses were ineligible and simply didn't care or thought she would fool us. Either way, she provided a disservice and then sent out newsletters claiming small businesses would benefit when she knew that was untrue.

The supposed "credit" is a credit against the income tax paid by small businesses, and NOT the payroll taxes withheld and paid by all employers.

LLC's, Partnerships, Sole Proprietors, and S-Corps do not directly pay income tax, their income simply "flows through" to the owners (and disqualifies them from even one cent of this credit) Again, I would estimate that over 95% of local businesses in Wasserman-Schultz's district fall under these rules and will never benefit one dime as she claims.

She provided a disservice to those she supposedly represents, and then told us out loud that she fought hard for us. Untrue!

This is one law that she either knew about and didn't care, or simply voted on without reading or understanding the language.

Joseph S Lania CPA
(954) 432-2299
joe@LaniaCPA.com