Pueblo, Colo., 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 Pueblo 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 Colorado’s representatives to join the fight in eliminating this harmful tax.
“As a small business owner, I take a lot of pride in providing my employees with quality health care coverage,” said Pete LaBarre, CEO of High Country Restaurant Holdings. “This new tax on health insurance will make it more difficult to provide the type of benefits and wages I feel my employees deserve.”
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 500,000 Colorado small businesses and 2.1 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.
“At a time when we are relying on small businesses to help grow Colorado’s economy, the HIT, quite simply, is the wrong plan,” said Tony Gagliardi, Colorado state director of the National Federation of Independent Business. “I am pleased to see bipartisan leadership on this issue in Washington, DC from Representatives Boustany and Matheson. It is critical that the Colorado delegation joins their effort.”
Today’s event was hosted by the Colorado Small Businesses 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.