During November, we support America’s small businesses, turning to them for our holiday shopping and preparations. Yet there is even more you can do to help these small businesses thrive and grow year-round.
You may not realize it, but small businesses are likely sitting at your Thanksgiving table. They include the farmers who raise our turkeys, the bakers who prepare our breads and pumpkin pies, the florists who make our festive bouquets, the printers that design holiday cards, and the boutique owners that carry the perfect host and hostess gift. And following Thanksgiving we celebrate Small Business Saturday by shopping at small businesses for holiday gifts.
But small businesses need support year-round – not just to grow their sales, but to control the costs that make it harder for them to stay afloat. You can help by asking Congress to repeal the harmful Health Insurance Tax (HIT).
The HIT unfairly targets small business owners and the millions of people they employ by driving up the cost of their health insurance. The HIT costs small businesses an average of $500 in higher premiums per employee per year, making it harder for them to provide benefits and opportunities for their employees.
Tom Jones, owner of Research Electronics International in Tennessee, which specializes in the design and manufacture of electronic test equipment for security applications, pointed to the impact the HIT is having on job creation, “This tax in particular, and the rising cost of health insurance, strangles the business owner’s ability to create new jobs.”
We ask Congress for help in making sure our small businesses remain an important engine of America’s economic growth. For our country’s millions of small businesses and their hardworking employees, repeal the Health Insurance Tax once and for all.