U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith joined local small business owners
today in Salem to discuss how the health insurance tax, or HIT, is impacting local
businesses and employees. The event was co-hosted by the National Federation of
Independent Business (NFIB) and the Stop the HIT Coalition, a broad based group
representing the nation’s small business owners, their employees and the
self-employed. Continues after the video.
“I
have been concerned for some time about the additional financial strain the
health insurance tax will impose on our small businesses which, like many Ninth
District families, are already facing higher health care costs,” Smith said. “For each additional cost put upon them, they must
determine how many employees they can continue to keep on the payroll, how they
may have to change the health insurance they offer, etc. The health insurance tax is one of many
harmful provisions included in the health care law, and legislation to repeal
this tax has significant bipartisan support.”
The
HIT is an often-overlooked tax in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act (PPACA) that significantly drives up health insurance costs for millions of
small businesses.
Nicole Riley, state director of NFIB/Virginia, said, “Virginia is home to more than 664,000 small businesses,
which employ more than 1.4 million workers. This tax will amount to $159
billion in new costs over the next decade, an amount that will be almost
entirely passed on to small businesses and the self-employed who purchase
coverage in the fully insured marketplace. According to research by the NFIB
Research Foundation, the HIT will jeopardize between 152,000 to 286,000
private-sector jobs across the U.S. by 2023, and reduce real GDP by as much as
$20 billion to $33 billion over the same period.”
Bob Rotanz, owner of Mac
& Bob’s Restaurant in Salem, said, “We have been in business for over 35
years and we believe that small businesses are really hurting with the HIT
tax. We want to offer our employees the
best insurance yet it is becoming a real burden financially to do so. Repealing the HIT tax would go a long way in
ensuring we retain a good work-force and keep our doors open to a community we
love.”
Congressman Griffith is a
cosponsor of H.R. 928, a bipartisan bill in the U.S. House of
Representatives that would repeal the HIT and permanently relieve small
businesses of this burdensome tax.
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.
