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No Surprise on Election Day – America’s Small Businesses Need Relief

After more than a year of stump speeches, campaign rallies, political ads, debates, pundits and pollsters, Americans finally head to the polls on Tuesday to cast their vote for the next President of the United States, Members of Congress and state and local officials. No matter the outcome of the election, there are two issues on the minds of many voters in every state and across all political spectrums: taxes and health care.

One reason these issues are so troubling to voters is the Health Insurance Tax (HIT). The HIT is a $130 billion tax that disproportionately hurts the 28.8 million small business owners across the United States and the 56.8 million workers they employ who desperately want to provide and depend on quality healthcare.

The HIT:

  • Is estimated to cost small businesses $500 per employee in higher premiums annually. For small businesses, this can cripple their ability to provide benefits and hire more employees.
  • Unfairly targets low and middle income Americans as nearly half of the entire HIT is paid by those with incomes between $10,000 – $50,000.
  • Could reduce private sector job creation by as much as 249,000

Additionally, this tax hits at an especially hard time for small business employees who are already seeing a significant decrease in health care coverage.

Helping to provide HIT relief is a fundamentally bipartisan issue, and we applaud the approximately 400 Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle who voted last December to suspend the impact of the HIT for one-year (2017). However, unless Washington takes further action during the Lame Duck session, the tax hits back in 2018, returning at an even higher rate.

From New York to California, Montana to Hawaii and every state in-between – small businesses are the lifeblood of the American economy. Candidates on both sides of the aisle can speak directly to them and their bottom lines by taking a stand against this misguided tax and providing further relief from the HIT for 2018.

Below is a breakdown of the number of small businesses in all 50 states and the number of people they employ.

State Small Businesses Small Business Employees
Alabama 382,524 765,293
Alaska 69,115 141,316
Arizona 519,504 979,412
Arkansas 240,123 476,232
California 3.7 million 6.7 million
Colorado 572,546 1 million
Connecticut 333,078 721,350
Delaware 74,913 174,196
District of Columbia 68,236 233,821
Florida 2.3 million 3.1 million
Georgia 982,112 1.5 million
Hawaii 122,566 263,364
Idaho 150,025 284,882
Illinois 1.2 million 2.4 million
Indiana 495,695 1.2 million
Iowa 264,384 633,270
Kansas 246,833 596,279
Kentucky 341,147 688,540
Louisiana 427,290 903,281
Maine 141,448 278,996
Maryland 561,837 1.1 million
Massachusetts 620,432 1.4 million
Michigan 856,352 1.8 million
Minnesota 503,733 1.2 million
Mississippi 244,755 425,573
Missouri 507,712 1.1 million
Montana 115,054 235,935
Nebraska 168,140 394,009
Nevada 238,162 428,174
New Hampshire 130,939 286,708
New Jersey 820,303 1.7 million
New Mexico 152,517 331,630
New York 2.1 million 3.9 million
North Carolina 843,724 1.6 million
North Dakota 70,944 199,617
Ohio 927,691 2.1 million
Oklahoma 336,908 699,648
Oregon 346,961 777,655
Pennsylvania 1 million 2.4 million
Rhode Island 96,688 223,651
South Carolina 384,274 743,262
South Dakota 83,334 200,080
Tennessee 563,533 1 million
Texas 2.4 million 4.4 million
Utah 259,786 520,366
Vermont 76,900 155,444
Virginia 681,517 1.5 million
Washington 555,285 1.3 million
West Virginia 115,162 290,950
Wisconsin 440,763 1.2 million
Wyoming 63,289 132,085
Nationwide 28.8 million 56.8 million