Pages

Thursday, April 1, 2010

1 page of Obamacare costs business $14 billion

Tussle over healthcare law impact on companies

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A growing number of major U.S. corporations are expecting to take tax charges in the first quarter related to the recently enacted health care reform law.

But while some companies are fretting about the charges, defenders of the law say the new rules merely close a loophole that allowed a double-dip benefit.

On Wednesday, Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) became the latest company to disclose that the law, which was signed by President Obama last week, will negatively impact its financial results.

The aeronautics company expects to take an income tax charge of roughly $150 million, or 20 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2010 as a result of the law.

AT&T (T, Fortune 500) said last week that it expects to book a $1 billion charge in the first quarter in anticipation of costs resulting from health care reform. That came after similar announcements from Deere (DE, Fortune 500) and Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500).

The charges stem from a part of the law that eliminates tax deductions for Medicare prescription drug subsidies.




No comments:

Post a Comment