PROVIDENCE – An information session on how small businesses in Rhode Island may claim new tax credits for health insurance premiums paid for employees in 2010 will be held on Monday, Dec. 6, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., at the Culinary Arts Museum on the Johnson & Wales University’s Harborside campus.
It will be led by U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Small Business Administration R.I. District Director Mark Hayward, IRS representative Odette Turenne, and will be hosted by the R.I. Small Business Development Center.
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The one-hour session is also intended to provide small businesses in Rhode Island with an opportunity to ask questions about the new federal Small Business Jobs Act, which seeks to provide resources to small businesses to create jobs, cover loan fees and enhance lender guarantees.
The new health tax credit is an important opportunity for small business in Rhode Island, because there are a large number of employers who would qualify, according to Monica Neronha, assistant vice president of legal services at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island. Neronha conducted a comprehensive review of the health care reform law and presented her findings at a Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce gathering in September.
In a subsequent interview with PBN, she explained how the tax credit works. “The tax credit is for the cost that employers pay for health insurance,” she said. “Businesses that employ up to 25 employees and pay 50 percent of the costs of an employee’s health insurance, with an average wage of less than $50,000, are eligible. For business with less than 10 employees, the average wage is less than $25,000. The maximum tax credit is 35 percent.”
In preparing taxes for 2010, businesses will have to plan to make a decision about whether to claim this tax credit, Neronha said.
