The Stop the HIT Coalition, a broadbased
group representing the nation’s small
business owners, their employees and the
self-employed has raised concerns over how
the new health insurance tax (HIT) will
impact New york jobs following the release
of new state data.
The study released today by the National
Federation of Independent Business
(NFIB) Research Foundation showed total
employment in New york will decline by
1,743 to 3,214 by 2022 as a direct result
of the HIT. In addition, New york’s overall
gross domestic product (sales) will be reduced
by at least $1.5 billion over the next
decade because of the HIT.
“Businesses in New york already face significant regulatory and economic barriers to growth. Adding a tax that will cost the state jobs and revenue when we need to focus on rebuilding our economy is simply the wrong approach,” said Amanda Austin, NFIB director of federal public policy. “Instead we should foster growth by protecting small businesses and their employees from this destructive tax.”
The HIT is a new tax in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which, beginning in 2014, will impose over $100 billion in new taxes on the small business community, their employees and the self-employed over a decade.
Former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-eakin estimates the HIT will increase premiums on insurance policies purchased in the fully-insured market by $5,000 over the next decade. eighty-eight percent of small businesses purchase their insurance in the fullyinsured market.
The Stop the HIT Coalition has been working to repeal this punitive tax on families and small businesses. The Jobs and Premium Protection Act, a bill to repeal the HIT has been introduced by Reps. Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Jim Matheson (Dutah) in the House of Representatives and Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Orrin Hatch (R-utah) in the Senate.
“Small businesses have it hard enough without having to try and cope with yet another tax increase,” said Brian Merriam, President of Merriam Insurance Agency in Schenectady, N.y. “What happens with small business ripples through the state’s economy. What’s bad for small business is bad for New york. And the HIT is bad for small business.”