Basin residents discuss health care, tax reform

MOSES LAKE - Business owners can be sure of one thing as the tax environment starts to change. "You're going to be paying your accountant a whole lot of money," because tax policy is going to get more complicated, said Randy Urich, a Wenatchee accountant. Urich presented a short overview of tax changes in 2013, and a preview of what might be coming, at a Wednesday meeting sponsored by the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce.

Under the federal Affordable Care Act, employers with more than 50 full-time employees will have to provide health insurance or face fines, Urich said. Individuals must buy insurance if their employer does not provide it, he said, and are subject to fines if they don't. Those fines start increasing dramatically in 2015 and 2016, he said.

Companies with less than 25 full-time employees can qualify for credits under certain circumstances, but those credits decrease as employee salaries increase, Urich said. In his opinion, employees and employers at smaller firms will come to agreement on some kind of employer-provided support, he said.

In answer to a question, he said no one has defined yet what constitutes a full-time employee. Seasonal workers will be exempt from the ACA provisions, he said.

Whether or not the Affordable Care Act applies to businesses on Native American land, or operated by Native Americans, in unclear, Urich said. When asked how the government plans to verify who does and doesn't have health insurance, Urich said he expects that people will be required to furnish proof as part of their tax returns.

Washington is setting up a program designed to help people purchase insurance. Joel Frank, whose SCORE organization co-sponsored the chamber meeting, said one concern has been that people will buy insurance as long as they need it and drop it when they don't. State officials are trying to build incentives to get people to stay on the plan, Frank said.

Looking ahead, Urich said he expects to see an overhaul of the federal tax code once the economy improves, and if the two political parties can find a way to work together. The current conversations are pointing toward a deal where tax rates go down, but tax laws are changed to limit deductions, Urich said.

Charitable donation deductions probably would be spared, but interest deductions might be eliminated, he said. Tax law for corporations for repairs and depreciation probably would be changed, he said.