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B&W Plumbing: HIT Means Finding Ways to Offset Increased Health Care Costs

I am the owner of B&W Plumbing and Heating – a small business my parents started 52 years ago in our garage. The continuation of the business was their retirement plan. In a small business, owners work shoulder to shoulder with employees accomplishing the mission of the business and hopefully earning a profit. I have watched our employees’ children grow up. I attend graduations, weddings and sometimes even funerals. When you work this closely with people they become your work family. Unlike the people in Washington, D.C. – insulated and removed from the real world – I see the results of every decision I make for our company.

Our mission is to provide superior plumbing and heating services to central Indiana. To achieve this I need to attract and hire highly trained professionals with above-average problem solving skills. One way we compete with larger companies is to offer the best benefits we can. By working with our insurance agent, we have been able to continue to pay for employee premiums. Our health care premium is our biggest overhead cost. Unemployment taxes, business property taxes, and increased fuel prices have already caused us to forego the purchase of new vehicles and equipment. If our health care expense increases due to the health insurance tax (HIT), we will have to an offset. I am not sure if it will be asking employees to contribute directly to their health care – effectively reducing their income – or eliminating another expense or investment on behalf of our company.

Unfortunately, I am not the only person feeling the effects of this burdensome tax. In talking with other small business owners from throughout the Indianapolis area, I have heard many stories similar to my own. Indiana business owners want to expand, grow their business and hire more employees, but the rising cost of health insurance does not make this possible. Repealing the HIT would provide more financial flexibility and help ensure that B&W Plumbing and Heating can continue to prosper for another 50 years.

Beth Rovazzini
Owner
B&W Plumbing and Heating
Speedway, Indiana