A Tampa business owner says the health insurance tax is bad for small businesses.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

I’ve been glad to hear talk out of Washington about Democrats and Republicans working together to fix healthcare. I think that more cooperation will be a good thing, especially if it means reaching agreement on important steps like eliminating the health insurance tax.

As owner of a small development and construction company in Tampa, I’m worried about what the HIT tax will do to businesses like mine. We had relief from the tax this year, so when the HIT comes roaring back — at $500 per employee per year in higher health insurance premiums — it’ll be a rude awakening.

Fitting these costs into a business’ budget will require cutbacks somewhere and could even mean layoffs for many companies. Some say the U.S. could lose over 150,000 and maybe close to 300,000 jobs. That’s a real shame, since it’s 100 percent avoidable if we get rid of the HIT tax.

One thing is for sure, new taxes are not going to help already skyrocketing health care costs. They will only cause more uproar from business owners and individual consumers who can’t bear the high costs. There must be a better way.

I’ve always supported U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson [D-FL] and appreciate his frank talk about the need to improve on the Affordable Care Act. He should start by addressing this awful HIT tax as soon as possible.

Jake Hannaway​, Owner​
Determined Development & Construction
Tampa​, FL

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