FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 15, 2013
TJ Helmstetter
Communications Director
Email: thelmstetter@americansfortaxfairness.org
105 Organizations Deliver Letter to Congress Opposing Repeal or Delay of the Medical Device Excise Tax
WASHINGTON – Americans for Tax Fairness and Families USA today released a letter signed by 105 organizations opposing the repeal or delay of the medical device excise tax. The 2.3 percent excise tax, which was an essential funding mechanism in the Affordable Care Act, has been under attack by Republican leaders in the House of Representatives and by some Democrats.
The organizations signing the letter include a diverse group of some of the nation’s largest labor unions, civil rights groups, and non-profits working on health care, senior’s issues and women’s issues, as well as many state organizations.
The letter was delivered over the holiday weekend to Members of Congress and senior officials in the Obama Administration. The letter also refutes point-by-point the pro-repeal arguments of the medical device industry.
Opponents of the very existence of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, have used the issue of the medical device tax as a leading wedge in efforts to unravel funding for the law. The co-signers of the letter oppose this attempt to weaken the law and strongly criticize the attempt to provide a tax break to the highly profitable medical device industry:
“Repeal of the medical devices excise tax would be one more example of corporate tax avoidance that hurts regular Americans and lets profitable corporations avoid paying their fair share of taxes.”
Americans for Tax Fairness is a diverse coalition of more than 325 national and state organizations that collectively represent tens of millions of members. The organization was formed on the belief that the country needs comprehensive, progressive tax reform that results in greater revenue to meet our growing needs. ATF is playing a central role in Washington and in the states on federal tax-reform issues.
Families USA is a national nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the achievement of high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans. It provides highly-regarded reports on health care issues, and it acts as a watchdog over government actions affecting health care, alerting consumers to changes and helping them have a say in the development of policy.