Oh, no. Certainly not.
Posted on 03/25/2010 6:09:58 AM PDT by AU72
A dire warning from Bay State medical-device companies that a new sales tax in the federal health-care law could force their plants - and thousands of jobs - out of the country has rattled Gov. Deval Patrick, a staunch backer of the law and pal President Obama.
“This bill is a jobs killer,” said Ernie Whiton, chief financial officer of Chelmsford’s Zoll Medical Corp., which employs about 650 people in Massachusetts. Many of those employees work in Zoll’s local manufacturing facility making heart defibrillators.
“We could be forced to (move) manufacturing overseas if we can’t pass along these costs to our customers,” said Whiton.
The threat - echoed by others in the critical Massachusetts industry - had the governor vowing to intervene to block the sales tax impact.
“I am obviously concerned about the medical device burden here on the commonwealth, which has a very robust industry around medical devices,” Patrick said yesterday.
He ticked off his past support for the life-sciences industry. But he added that “you better believe I will work to make modifications” if the bill is found to be an “impediment to that industry.”
Medical-device makers - part of the life-sciences sector that’s been one of only a few fields creating jobs during the recession - are warning that the new sales tax could cripple many companies, especially small firms with razor-thin profit margins.
Under the legislation signed by Obama, medical-device companies would be slapped with a sales tax of about 2.9 percent to raise about $2.2 billion a year to pay for the health-care overhaul. Under a companion “reconciliation” bill now being debated in the Senate, the tax is set at 2.3 percent and would start Jan. 1, 2013.
Most political observers expect the reconciliation bill to pass - with the 2.3 percent medical-devices tax. The tax exempts eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids and all products generally found in drug stores, from bandages to toothbrushes.
But it hits more sophisticated medical instruments and equipment, a specialty of hundreds of firms in Massachusetts.
“They’re beating up on the guys doing the best to create jobs,” said Tom Taylor, chairman of the Massachusetts Medical Devices Industry Council and founder of Roush Life Sciences.
U.S. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is pressing for elimination of the proposed sales tax, as part of a larger, last-ditch effort by Republicans to stall specific aspects of the historic $940 billion health-care overhaul signed into law on Tuesday by Obama.
“With unemployment in my state near 10 percent, placing a tax on medical devices is the absolute last thing we should be doing right now,” said Brown in a statement, as he filed an amendment that would repeal the tax.
Despite his concerns, Patrick stood by health care reform yesterday, saying the law is A dire warning from Bay State medical-device companies that a new sales tax in the federal health-care law could force their plants - and thousands of jobs - out of the country has rattled Gov. Deval Patrick, a staunch backer of the law and pal President Obama.
“This bill is a jobs killer,” said Ernie Whiton, chief financial officer of Chelmsford’s Zoll Medical Corp., which employs about 650 people in Massachusetts. Many of those employees work in Zoll’s local manufacturing facility making heart defibrillators.
“We could be forced to (move) manufacturing overseas if we can’t pass along these costs to our customers,” said Whiton.
The threat - echoed by others in the critical Massachusetts industry - had the governor vowing to intervene to block the sales tax impact.
“I am obviously concerned about the medical device burden here on the commonwealth, which has a very robust industry around medical devices,” Patrick said yesterday.
He ticked off his past support for the life-sciences industry. But he added that “you better believe I will work to make modifications” if the bill is found to be an “impediment to that industry.”
Medical-device makers - part of the life-sciences sector that’s been one of only a few fields creating jobs during the recession - are warning that the new sales tax could cripple many companies, especially small firms with razor-thin profit margins.
Under the legislation signed by Obama, medical-device companies would be slapped with a sales tax of about 2.9 percent to raise about $2.2 billion a year to pay for the health-care overhaul. Under a companion “reconciliation” bill now being debated in the Senate, the tax is set at 2.3 percent and would start Jan. 1, 2013.
Most political observers expect the reconciliation bill to pass - with the 2.3 percent medical-devices tax. The tax exempts eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids and all products generally found in drug stores, from bandages to toothbrushes.
But it hits more sophisticated medical instruments and equipment, a specialty of hundreds of firms in Massachusetts.
“They’re beating up on the guys doing the best to create jobs,” said Tom Taylor, chairman of the Massachusetts Medical Devices Industry Council and founder of Roush Life Sciences.
U.S. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is pressing for elimination of the proposed sales tax, as part of a larger, last-ditch effort by Republicans to stall specific aspects of the historic $940 billion health-care overhaul signed into law on Tuesday by Obama.
“With unemployment in my state near 10 percent, placing a tax on medical devices is the absolute last thing we should be doing right now,” said Brown in a statement, as he filed an amendment that would repeal the tax.
Despite his concerns, Patrick stood by health care reform yesterday, saying the law is “very good for the people of America and the people of the commonwealth.”
“This bill is a jobs killer,” said Ernie Whiton, chief financial officer of Chelmsford’s Zoll Medical Corp., which employs about 650 people in Massachusetts. Many of those employees work in Zoll’s local manufacturing facility making heart defibrillators.
“We could be forced to (move) manufacturing overseas if we can’t pass along these costs to our customers,” said Whiton.
The threat - echoed by others in the critical Massachusetts industry - had the governor vowing to intervene to block the sales tax impact.
“I am obviously concerned about the medical device burden here on the commonwealth, which has a very robust industry around medical devices,” Patrick said yesterday.
He ticked off his past support for the life-sciences industry. But he added that “you better believe I will work to make modifications” if the bill is found to be an “impediment to that industry.”
Medical-device makers - part of the life-sciences sector that’s been one of only a few fields creating jobs during the recession - are warning that the new sales tax could cripple many companies, especially small firms with razor-thin profit margins.
Under the legislation signed by Obama, medical-device companies would be slapped with a sales tax of about 2.9 percent to raise about $2.2 billion a year to pay for the health-care overhaul. Under a companion “reconciliation” bill now being debated in the Senate, the tax is set at 2.3 percent and would start Jan. 1, 2013.
Most political observers expect the reconciliation bill to pass - with the 2.3 percent medical-devices tax. The tax exempts eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids and all products generally found in drug stores, from bandages to toothbrushes.
But it hits more sophisticated medical instruments and equipment, a specialty of hundreds of firms in Massachusetts.
“They’re beating up on the guys doing the best to create jobs,” said Tom Taylor, chairman of the Massachusetts Medical Devices Industry Council and founder of Roush Life Sciences.
U.S. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is pressing for elimination of the proposed sales tax, as part of a larger, last-ditch effort by Republicans to stall specific aspects of the historic $940 billion health-care overhaul signed into law on Tuesday by Obama.
“With unemployment in my state near 10 percent, placing a tax on medical devices is the absolute last thing we should be doing right now,” said Brown in a statement, as he filed an amendment that would repeal the tax.
Despite his concerns, Patrick stood by health care reform yesterday, saying the law is “very good for the people of America and the people of the commonwealth.”
Too bad they’d have to move overseas. I am sure real states like Texas would be more than happy to have them.
We're talking about Obama here -- what did you expect??
But... but... Unicorns! Skittles! Rainbows! Hope! Change!
Your gov must have been bright enough to know that any new taxes would hurt business in an already tax-heavy state.
Nobody is that stupid, right?
Or Virginia.
Oh, no. Certainly not.
“They’re beating up on the guys doing the best to create jobs,” said Tom Taylor, chairman of the Massachusetts Medical Devices Industry Council and founder of Roush Life Sciences.
Can someone look up to see if this guy donated money to the dems or obama?
It's a national tax. Texas will have to secede first.
I suspect once they bite the bullet and move, they might as well go all in and go to Singapore. Massachusetts used to be a manufacturing Mecca, from about 1800 to 1980. Industries have been dying, electronics was one of the last to disappear, with medical devices one of the few healthy sectors. It looks like that’ll be gone soon, too. In a generation or too, all we’ll have left is finance, education and tourism. But what to finance, education for what and who’ll have money to come as tourists? Other than the Chinese.
And that was supposed to lower medical costs? Democrats need to be voted out!
I'm not thrilled about a federal sales tax; what's next ?
Driving medical device manufacturers overseas is a really, really bad idea and I'm not talking about the loss of jobs either.
If more people knew what I know...
I’m guessing the medical device manufacturers are probably big donors to the Governor and other dems in the state?
Texas companies are not exempt from federal taxes
Besides, more jobs are comin’! Four million new jobs! 400,000 immediately! As per Nan Pelosi!
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/02/25/pelosi-its-not-a-health-care-reform-bill-its-a-jobs-bill/
People I know in the state Democrat party told me there’s a reason why Diane Patrick is so depressed.
As a percent of income, state and local tax burden in Massachusetts is about median for the nation and lower than most of the northeast. New Hampshire might have us beat. Barbara Anderson and Howie Carr have been invaluable in beating back the Dukakoids. In fact the preception of Taxachusetts plays into the hands of the anti-tax activists. Massachusetts once had relatively high taxes, but not so much anymore.
New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut and Rhode Island, to name a few, are all much worse. The business climate in Massachusetts is probably a lot better than in a lot of other states. Losing DEC, Polaroid and a host of smaller companies and entire industries (shoes, textiles) in the lifetime of people below thirty has made people appreciate the importance of business. No politician in Massachusetts adopts the kind of antibusiness posture so common in other states.
The plan has nothing to do with health care.
It's sole purpose is to overwhelm the system.
Wrong, under the rules of the Constitution, the only place they will be able to sell their products as tax exempt, if they move to Texas, is within Texas. Otherwise they will pay the tax based on a Federal levy, enforced by the IRS.
They will have to move out of the USA. Mexico perhaps?
“He ticked off his past support for the life-sciences industry. But he added that “you better believe I will work to make modifications” if the bill is found to be an “impediment to that industry.” “
Yah, sure. Too late a$$hole.
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