Earlier this month, SurePayroll announced December results for its monthly Small Business Scorecard showing a promising trend of small business owners expressing optimism about the economy. SurePayroll's Small Business Scorecard optimism score climbed to 63 percent in December compared to 53 percent in the previous two months, and up from only 33 percent in September.

Despite the sluggishness of 2011, the SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard's optimism survey shows some very positive signs for 2012.

• Along with optimism being up to 63 percent, the highest it has been since June, the survey also shows 50 percent of small business owners planning to hire in 2012.
• Meanwhile, 56 percent plan to increase wages for some or all of their employees in the new year.
• Only 2 percent plan to cut wages.

“We saw caution in 2011, but the leading indicators suggest 2012 looks positive,” says SurePayroll CEO and President Michael Alter. “The sun is on the horizon. Optimism is higher. Fifty percent plan to hire, and wages look to go up.”

Another one in five respondents plan to attain funding in 2012 to invest in marketing, technology, and facility upgrades and expansion.

“We really need to make sure lending is easy and accessible,” Alter says. “It’s been a challenge over the last few years, but, hopefully, as we look ahead to 2012 that will change.”

Click here to read the full press release. 

Note: None of this should be taken as legal or tax advice.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Humana has pulled out of the Utah Health Exchange to focus on its own small business products.

This appears to be an an issue of higher priorities: “We continue to support it as a bold, state-based approach to health care reform, said Humana in a prepared statement. "However, we are now at a point where we need to make a choice in priorities, and have made the decision to place our full focus on our existing small-business products.”

This suggests Humana believes the Utah Health Exchange, in its current experimental form, is not a viable solution for Utah small businesses. 

The percentage of small businesses in the United States offering health benefits dropped from 47% in 2000 to 42% in 2009.

Click here to visit the NFIB's website.

Small businesses (companies with less than 50 employees) are largely unaffected by the recently passed health care reform legislation. 

1. What is the small business tax credit and how do I know if I am eligible?  Effective January 1, 2010 tax credits are available to qualifying small business that contribute to their employees' health insurance costs. To be eligible for the tax credit, your company must have less than 25 employees and average salaries less than $50,000. To learn more about the small business tax credit, please see "Small Employer Health Care Tax Credit - How Does it Work?"
   


2. How do I calculate how many FTE employees I Have? To calculate the number of FTE employees you have, add the number of full-time employees (i.e. those working 40 or more hours per week) with the full-time equivalent part-time employees. The number of full-time equivalent part-time employees is determined by totaling the hours worked by part-time employees and dividing it by 2,080.


3. Am I required to offer health insurance? No. Small businesses with less than 50 employees are not required to offer health insurance under the new legislation.
   
   
4. Will I be penalized for not offering insurance to my employees? No. There are no tax penalties for companies with less than 50 employees that do not offer insurance.
   
   
5. If I do not offer health insurance, will my employees be required to buy it and will there be any government help? Yes. Beginning January 1, 2014, all individuals must purchase "qualified" health insurance. If they do not, they may be subject to tax penalties of up to $695 per year. Government subsidies will be available to individuals with incomes up to 400% of the poverty line ($88,200 for a family of four) to help pay for individual health insurance.
   
   
6. What is the insurance exchange and how will I be able to use it? By 2014, each state must create an American Health Benefits Exchange and a Small Business Health Options Program Exchange. These exchanges will provide a place where individuals and small businesses can purchase coverage that meets the federal requirements. Small business owners are not required to purchase coverage through the exchanges.
   
   
7. How will health care reform affect my health insurance if I am self employed? Beginning in 2014, self-employed individuals will have access to the small group market and guaranteed-issue individual health insurance policies. Self-employed individuals will still be able to take tax deductions for premiums on their individual 1040. 
   
   
8. What if my business grows to more than 50 full-time equivalent employees? Small business owners with more than 50 employees that do not provide qualified health insurance are required to pay a tax penalty for employees that buy individual insurance and receive a government subsidy. To learn more about how health care reform affects large companies (more than 50 employees), please see "How Health Care Insurance Reform Affects U.S. Employers and their Employees."
   
   
9. Will I be required to change my health plan in 2014? No. The new health care reform bill specifically allows a small business owner to keep their company's current health insurance as a "grandfathered" plan. "Grandfathered" plans will not be subject to new health insurance mandates until the plan is altered.
   
   
10. Are there new reporting requirements for health benefits for my business? Yes. Beginning in the 2011 tax year, you will be required to report the "aggregate cost" of your employer-sponsored coverage on an employee's W-2. These reported amounts will not be taxed. To learn more about new W-2 reporting requirements, please see "How Health Care Reform Affects Annual W-2 Reporting."

Do you have any additional questions?