Salem, Ore., February 21, 2013 – Small business owners and advocates met today in Salem 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 Salem 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 Oregon’s representatives to join the fight in eliminating this harmful tax.
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of any community and have certainly been an important contributor to Salem’s economic growth,” said Dan Farrington with Sunrise Medical Consultants. “As someone who has owned a business here for years, I care about my employees and their families, but slapping yet another tax on me will hurt my ability to expand and bring more jobs to our community.”
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 300,000 Oregon small businesses and nearly 1.4 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.
“This tax would be a terrible setback to small businesses and communities in the Salem area,” said Jan Meekoms, Oregon State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business. “Elected officials need to step up to the plate and prove they know what is good for their constituents by repealing this tax. I applaud Representatives Boustany and Matheson for taking the lead in this regard by introducing a bill to eliminate this harmful tax, and I certainly hope Oregon’s state leadership will support the bill.”
Today’s event at Salem Golf Club was hosted by the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce 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.