BISMARCK, N.D., March 6, 2013 – Small business owners and advocates met today to discuss efforts to repeal the costly Health Insurance Tax (HIT) that was included in the president’s health care plan, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
During the event, small business owners from the Bismarck area discussed how this new tax would only exacerbate the challenges facing small business by further raising the cost of health care for thousands of businesses and their employees in the state. Given the recent introduction of bipartisan legislation by Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Jim Matheson (D-UT) to repeal the HIT, attendees called for North Dakota’s representatives to join the fight in eliminating this harmful tax.
“By introducing a bipartisan bill that all members of Congress can stand behind, Representatives Boustany and Matheson took a critical step in protecting small businesses across the country,” said Dave Brasher, Central Region public policy director of the National Federation of Independent Business. “The health of North Dakota’s small businesses depends on the elimination of burdensome taxes like the health insurance tax. We look forward to working with North Dakota’s leadership in Congress to join in this critical effort. ”
The HIT is a discriminatory tax born from the president’s health care plan, which would impose over $100 billion in new taxes on the small business community, their employees and the self-employed over a decade. The HIT could impact more than 60,000 North Dakota small businesses and over 300,000 North Dakota workers and families.
Under the law, the tax will be imposed almost entirely on what’s known as the “fully insured market,” where 87 percent of small business owners purchase their insurance. The tax would raise the cost of health insurance premiums for families by approximately $5,000 over the next decade according to an analysis by former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin.
Today’s event was hosted by the Consensus Council and members of the Stop The HIT Coalition, an organization representing small business owners, their employees and the self-employed who support a repeal of the HIT and seek to educate policymakers about the impact of the pending tax.
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The Stop The HIT Coalition represents the nation’s small business owners, their employees and the self-employed who are actively working to repeal the Health Insurance Tax. Since the Coalition’s formation in 2011, it has grown to include more than 35 national organizations, representing millions of small business owners across the country. For more information, please visit www.StopTheHIT.com.