House Members Push for Device Tax Repeal in Larger Legislative Package

A bipartisan group of 44 freshmen members of Congress is urging House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) to include medical device tax repeal provisions in a larger legislative package by the end of the calendar year.

In a Nov. 19 letter, the group, led by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), says the 2.3 percent excise tax requires devicemakers to pay an estimated average of $194 million per month in tax payments. That means the industry is subject to one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world.

“In a competitive global economy, this tax threatens an innovative industry that directly employs 400,000 Americans, generates approximately $25 billion in payroll, and invests nearly $10 billion in research and development annually,” the letter says.

The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance has commended the group of Congress members for writing the letter.

AdvaMed says it looks forward to working with Congress to address the device tax this year.

The letter follows a June 18 House vote of 280 to 140 to repeal the device excise tax under H.R. 160, known as the Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 (IDDM, June 19).

Two bills introduced in the Senate — the Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act (S. 149) and A Bill to Repeal the Medical Device Excise Tax, and for Other Purposes (S. 844) — have failed to get out of the Finance Committee, despite bipartisan support.

Read the letter here: www.fdanews.com/11-15-TaxRepeal-Letter.pdf. — Jonathon Shacat