SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (March 19, 2013) – The Stop the HIT Coalition, a broadbased group representing the nation’s small business owners, their employees and the self-employed, today commended Utah Senator Orrin Hatch (R) for his introduction of legislation to repeal the Health Insurance Tax (HIT) included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Senator John Barrasso (RWyo.) is the legislation’s cosponsor.
“Senators Hatch and Barrasso took a critical step today in protecting the financial futures of millions of small businesses and their employees,” said National Federation of Independent Business President and CEO Dan Danner. “By protecting small businesses from yet another burdensome tax, this bill will ensure companies can continue to hire and offer a much-needed boost to their local economies.”
The HIT is an often-overlooked small business tax in the President’s health care law that threatens to raise premiums by an estimated $500 a year for small business owners, their employees and the self-employed. With more than 240,000 small businesses that employ over 1.1 million workers, this tax could serve as a chief obstacle to Utah’s economic growth.
According to a study released today by the National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation, the HIT would reduce private sector employment by between 146,000 and 262,000 in 2022. Roughly 59 percent of these job losses will fall on small businesses. The survey also showed that the added tax would reduce U.S. real output (sales) in 2022 by between $19 billion to $35 billion.
“The last thing I need is to be forced to spend money paying yet another tax when I could be using those funds to invest in my employees and grow my company,” said Mark Lewon, President of Utah Metal Works in Salt Lake City. “Repealing the HIT will provide businesses like mine the certainty we need to provide my employees quality health care coverage while creating more jobs.”
Over the course of the next 10 years, the HIT will impose more than $100 billion in new taxes on health care plans in the fully-insured market, where 88 percent of small businesses and the self-employed purchase insurance. According to an analysis by former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin, every family affected by the HIT can expect to pay approximately $5,000 in higher
premiums over the decade.
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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 visitwww.StopTheHIT.com.