New Obamacare Taxes Result in Job Losses
The more time passes, the more we get to see in real life the consequences of Obamacare. We warned back when it passed that the 18 tax increases it contained would do serious damage to the economy. Only now that the damage is about to take hold do some in Congress take note.
The specific tax that has caught the attention of 18 Senators, most of whom voted for Obamacare, is the medical device tax. This tax begins on January 1—along with four other Obamacare taxes—and levies a 2.3 percent excise tax on the sales of manufacturers and importers of medical devices. Depending on how these businesses pass the tax on, it could result in higher prices for their customers (e.g. patients), lower returns to their shareholders, or fewer jobs for their workers. As we explained earlier, evidence is mounting that it is their workers that will bear the brunt of the tax.For instance, Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan, announced it will lay off about 1,000 workers—about 5 percent of its workforce—because of the tax. Many of those job losses will occur in the company’s research and development department. This will stifle the company’s ability to innovate to create new products or improve existing products.
The fallout from the medical device tax may surprise these Senators, but it shouldn’t. After all, for the most part they support raising taxes on carbon, cigarettes, and gas, for instance, to dissuade their use. Raising taxes on medical devices was bound to have some adverse consequence which they should have known if they truly believe taxes can be used to alter behavior. Read about the rest of the fallout from this tax. >>
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