Indeed, a detailed analysis of the Democrats’ government takeover of health care finds that small businesses and their employees don’t fare well under the legislation.  Here are just a few examples:

• Page 155-157; Section 321– This section imposes fines of $100 per employee per day on employers who do not offer a level of health coverage that is “government-approved” (employers would pay this fine every day until the oversight is corrected).  This means that fines of up to $500,000 can be imposed on employers who make an honest mistake, thinking they had provided what the government deemed “sufficient” coverage.
• Page 189; Section 421 (b)(2) – Under the bill, small businesses could receive subsidies to cover a portion of their health care costs.  However, to receive a full subsidy, the average employee income must be below $20,000 and have fewer than 10 employees.  This creates a perverse incentive to keep wages low and to not hire new workers.
• Page 150; Section 313 – The bill includes a “small business exclusion” from the eight percent payroll tax, but the definition of small business in the bill leaves a large number of small businesses subject to the full eight percent tax.  In fact, on average, small businesses with as few as 12 employees would be subject to a new payroll tax through the bill if they could not afford to provide coverage.  Worse, the bill does not index to inflation the amounts which trigger the “small business exemption” meaning that Democrats have built into the bill a mechanism that capture and subject more small employers to the eight percent tax over time.
• Page 198; Section 441 – If the government does not realize savings the authors of the bill claim will occur – even though congressional scorekeepers did not project any savings from these provisions – then the national small business surtax is automatically increased.
• Pages 144-149; Section 312 – The bill mandates that employer contributions cannot come through salary reductions.  Under this section, employers have to make a minimum contribution toward the health benefits plan premium for both full-time and less than full-time employees.  By the terms of this provision, they cannot take that contribution out of an employee’s salary.  That defies logic since any contribution that an employer makes toward a health care premium is necessarily money it cannot pay to its employees in salary.  This will lead substantial layoffs as employers face this de facto tax.

Small businesses are the engine of our economy.  Instead of punishing them with more taxes and mandates, shouldn’t Washington be encouraging them to create more jobs and provide their employees and their families access to more affordable health care?