WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 26, 2015) – The Stop The HIT Coalition, a broad-based group representing the nation’s small business owners, their employees and the self-employed, commended Senator John Barrasso for filing an amendment to the Senate Budget Committee’s most recent proposal that would repeal the health insurance tax (HIT). Senators Orrin Hatch and Pat Roberts cosponsored the amendment, joining Senator Barrasso in working to relieve small business owners of this financial burden.
Additionally, Senator Roberts filed an amendment that would delay the tax for two years, providing small business owners, their employees and their family’s time to prepare and adjust for the financial strain of the tax.
“As the Senate continues a busy and productive week, we are thankful Senators Barrasso, Hatch and Roberts are focused on providing much needed relief for the communities that are struggling under the health care law,” said Amanda Austin, vice president of public policy at the National Federation of Independent Business. “These amendments serve as a critical reminder that the rising costs associated with the HIT can no longer be ignored while small business owners struggle to pay for them.”
The HIT is an often overlooked small business tax in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which will impose $159 billion in taxes on the small business community, their employees and the self-employed over the next decade. The HIT does not sunset and is expected to cost each family approximately $5,000 in higher premiums over the decade according to an analysis by former Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin. This year alone the tax will collect $11 billion from Main Street.
The HIT would reduce private sector employment by between 152,000 and 286,000 by 2023, according to a study by the National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation. Roughly 57 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 2023 by between $20 billion to $33 billion.