Cookeville, Tenn. (April 9, 2015) – Congressman Diane Black (R-Gallatin) joined local small business owners today in Cookeville to discuss how the health insurance tax, or HIT, is impacting local businesses and employees. The event was hosted by the Stop the HIT Coalition, a broad based group representing the nation’s small business owners, their employees and the self-employed.
“Obamacare’s costly health insurance tax is a pathway to higher premiums and fewer jobs that deals an especially unfair blow to the small business community,” said Congressman Diane Black. “I appreciate the opportunity to hear firsthand from job creators in my district how this will impact their ability to grow and hire more workers. I look forward to taking their concerns back with me to Washington as we continue the fight to erase this burdensome tax once and for all.”
The HIT is an often-overlooked tax in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that significantly drives up health insurance costs for millions of small businesses. The tax amounts to $159 billion in new costs over the next decade, which is almost entirely passed on to small businesses and the self-employed who purchase coverage in the fully insured marketplace. The tax raises the cost of health insurance premiums for families by approximately $500 a year, according to an analysis by former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin.
Kevin McCaleb with J & S Construction noted, “As a small business, we are really pleased that Congressman Black has taken a lead on trying to repeal this burdensome tax initiated through the ACA. We truly appreciate her efforts and in particular coming to our city to listen to our concerns.”
Tennessee is home to more than 566,000 small businesses, which employ more than one million workers. According to research by the National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation, the HIT will jeopardize between 152,000 to 286,000 private-sector jobs across the U.S. by 2023, and reduce real GDP by as much as $20 billion to $33 billion over the same period.
Congresswoman Black is a cosponsor of H.R. 928, a bipartisan bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would repeal the HIT and permanently relieve small businesses of this burdensome tax.