CODY SOSSAMON PUBLISHER You probably heard a lot about the healthcare bill recently passed by our elected representatives in Washington, D.C.

If you’re like me, you didn’t see a whole lot of facts and figures about exactly what the bill would mean to everyday Joes like us.

Some of the specifics are beginning to come to light and you probably aren’t going to be too happy with the two I’ve been told about.

One of them affects businesses and the other one affects employees, but anything that affects the bottom line of a business affects its employees, too.

Ok, here goes. Does your employer pay any portion of your healthcare premiums?

If the answer is no, then you can stop reading right now.

If yes, prepare to pay more in income taxes beginning in 2011.

That’s when you’ll start having to claim all of the benefit as ordinary income.

For example, The Gaffney Ledger pays $300 of the monthly healthcare premium for its employees. That's’ $3,600 per year.

Using the 15 percent income tax bracket, that translates to $540 more that person will have to pay in income taxes each year.

How do you like them apples? I’ve talked to some of my folks and they don’t like it one little bit.

Hey, I tell them, thank your president and Rep. John Spratt, who I believe voted for the bill.

That’s the middle class tax break Obama the candidate didn’t want anyone to know about. You can rest assured there will be many more unpleasant surprises coming out of this healthcare bill.

Do you own a business? Get ready for a lot of extra paperwork. This provision of the healthcare bill is going to be particularly burdensome on small companies. Also beginning in 2011 (I think), every business, large or small, will have to send 1099 forms to every business or company they paid $600 or more in the previous calendar year.

Let me set the table for you. We (The Gaffney Ledger) buy sodas for our drink machine and snacks for our break room from Wal-Mart. We spend at least $600 per year for these items.

Under this new healthcare regulation, we will now have to keep up with all of those purchases from each individual company. We will then have to acquire the pertinent information on where to send these 1099s from all of these companies.

Then we’ll have to generate these forms and mail them. Now, I’m not sure how many companies we spend at least $600 with each year, but I expect it will be a rather lengthy list.

Well, you say, “I don’t own a company so what’s the big deal. Won’t affect me.”

In the words of Lee Corso, not so fast, my friend.

You work for a company and every added expense reduces that company’s profit. If the company you work for isn’t making a profit, you can forget about raises or bonuses.

I’m here to tell you, this “little” 1099 requirement will be a big deal for a lot of small companies.

Just another small “surprise” from your friends in Washington who brought you “Obamacare.”

There will be more, many more, to come.

I can’t wait.

Cody Sossamon (cody@gaffneyledger.com) is publisher of The Gaffney Ledger.