LITTLE ROCK, AR., February 20, 2013 – Small businesses and advocates in Little Rock 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 Little Rock and the surrounding areas met to discuss 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 U.S. Representatives Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Jim Matheson (D-UT) to repeal the HIT, attendees called for Arkansas’ representatives to join the fight in eliminating this harmful tax.
“As a small business owner with deep ties to my community, I have seen health care costs rise for years and it is becoming more difficult to provide the care my employees deserve,” said Mary Bentley, owner of Bentley Drinkware in Perryville. “Imposing an additional tax on small businesses like mine would make expanding and creating jobs increasingly difficult. Instead, I hope that Congress takes the appropriate steps to protect small businesses and foster growth, not stifle it.”
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. The HIT could impact more than 240,000 Arkansas small businesses and over one million 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.
“Now more than ever it is critical that our leadership in Washington hear directly from the businesses and workers who contribute to the financial growth and prosperity of our state,” said Sylvester Smith, Arkansas State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business. “Representatives Boustany and Matheson have taken a critical first step in introducing a bill to eliminate this harmful tax and it is our hope that our state’s leadership will join in this important fight.”
Today’s event was hosted by the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce and members of the Stop The HIT Coalition, which represents 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.