Small businesses getting HIT

Questions remain about whether Congress can enact a comprehensive Obamacare fix, let alone a full repeal. The on-and-off rejection of the latest compromise plan is only the latest example of Washington’s dysfunction. Speaker Paul Ryan and other conservative leaders may have no choice but to address the Affordable Care Act’s many failures in bite-sized pieces.

A key provision to sink their teeth into is the health insurance tax, often called the “HIT.” This is one of the most egregious components of Obamacare. The tax directly raises the costs of healthcare for small businesses and individual consumers. Without action by Congress, 100 million Americans will face a 2018 tax hike totaling $14.3 billion.

This late in the year, the most feasible response is to delay the HIT tax for 2018. Congress did it before, and the votes should be there for a repeat performance. Four hundred Democrat and Republican leaders said “yes” to spare America from the HIT tax in 2017. Most can be compelled to again take this principled stand against raising taxes where they would do the most harm — on healthcare.

For Wisconsin businesses, delaying the HIT tax is a “do or die” issue. Healthcare costs have been skyrocketing, and 95% of small businesses say they’ve experienced premium increases over the past five years. Further, Wisconsin’s Obamacare premiums for individuals will increase by 36% in 2018.

This affects all aspects of small business operations. We hesitate to bring on new employees because we are cowed by the benefit costs. We are spending more on our workers’ benefits, but seeing less and less in return for the investment. And business investments, such as technology, facilities, and equipment — they’re tougher than ever to fund as we plow more money into the benefits which are greatly valued by our employees.

As we feed more money into the Obamacare system, the economy has sputtered in its recovery. We cannot now imperil our growth with a hidden tax that will take $500 out of the pockets of small business for every individual they employ, every year.

For small businesses, the HIT tax is the worst of all possible worlds. It will have a direct, negative effect on us job creators, requiring us to spend thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars, more to provide healthcare for our workforce. At the same time, it will take money from consumers that they could otherwise spend locally to support Main Street businesses.

In the last election, Wisconsin soundly rejected Obamacare. We voted for change, and we voted for high-quality jobs. Allowing the HIT tax to return would be to break the promises Republicans made to ease the tax burden in the U.S.

House Speaker Paul Ryan knows what he must do — delay the HIT tax, without further delay. Steve White is a business owner in Genoa City.