FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hillary Schmidt
media@StopTheHIT.com
(888) 737-3207
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 3, 2013) – The Stop the HIT Coalition, a broad-based group representing the nation’s small business owners, their employees and the self-employed, responded to President Barack Obama’s Thursday remarks on the shutdown’s impact on small business with the following statement:
“It was encouraging to hear the President express concern over the future of America’s small businesses,” said Kevin Kuhlman, Manager of Legislative Affairs for National Federation of Independent Business, a leading Stop the HIT Coalition member. “But if President Obama is as concerned about small businesses as he claimed today, he should turn his concern into action and provide them relief from the significant burden of the HIT, which will raise taxes and stifle job growth. While the government shutdown will certainly have an impact, it is a temporary disturbance compared to the long-term damage the HIT will do to the nation’s economy.
“The President has listened to and addressed the concerns other groups have had about the new health care law. It is time for him to do the fair thing and prove his commitment to protecting small businesses and the millions of Americans they employ.”
The HIT, or health insurance tax, is an often-overlooked aspect of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that taxes health insurance policies purchased on the fully-insured market – the marketplace where 88 percent of small businesses and individuals buy insurance. Over the next decade, the HIT is expected to affect 34 million Americans and cost the average family $5,000. Labor unions and large corporations are largely exempt from the tax.
According to a recent study by the National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation, the HIT will drive down private sector employment by as much as 262,000 and reduce the nation’s gross domestic product by as much as $35 billion by 2022.
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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.