WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 25, 2015) – The Stop The HIT Coalition, a broad-based group representing the nation’s small business owners, their employees and the self-employed, today commented on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the King vs. Burwell case.
“While the Supreme Court today ruled in favor of the premium subsidies that make health care more affordable for many Americans, the fact still remains that small businesses are suffering under the financial strain of the HIT,” said Kevin Kuhlman, director of legislative affairs at the National Federation of Independent Business. “This tax directly correlates to increased health care costs, and more specifically higher premiums, for small business owners, their employees and their families. Congress must take this first step to repeal the HIT before unaffordable coverage becomes the status quo for Main Street.”
The HIT will impose $159 billion in new taxes on the small business community over the next decade and will collect $11 billion this year alone. It does not sunset and is expected to cost each family approximately $5,000 in higher premiums over the next 10 years according to an analysis by former Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin. Additionally, the HIT will reduce private sector employment by between 152,000 and 286,000 by 2023, according to a study by the NFIB Research Foundation. Roughly 57 percent of these job losses will fall on small businesses. The study also showed that the added tax would reduce U.S. real output (sales) in 2023 by between $20 billion to $33 billion.
Legislation to relieve Main Street of the burdensome tax is already on the table and has widespread support in both the House and Senate. The Jobs and Premium Protection Act 2015, a bill to repeal the HIT was introduced by Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) who are joined by 34 of their colleagues in calling for repeal of the tax. Companion legislation was introduced in the House by Representatives Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and is cosponsored by a bipartisan group of 229.