Penalties are no joking matter when it comes to employers and the Affordable Care Act. A slip up in paperwork, negligence in reporting, or not offering minimum essential coverage to employees are just a few of the potential issues that can surface and result in massive penalties for companies nationwide. And the numbers keep rising. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released more predictions over a ten-year span for employer penalties.
Let’s see how the figures have changed. In 2013, it appeared as though things were looking up. The CBO reported in May of that year, that in conjunction with the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), penalty payments by employers were decreased by $10 billion, dropping from $150 billion to $140 billion in comparison from February to May.
In 2014, the CBO estimated another $10 billion drop from $140 billion to $130 billion. However, in June of 2014, the CBO still estimated an increase of employer penalties in excess of $40 billion over that 10-year span. That number is currently estimated to be $228 billion over the next ten years, resulting in a net revenue effect to the IRS of $178 billion over that time period.