REVISE THE HEALTH CARE TAX ON AMBULATORY SURGERY CENTERS Ambulatory surgery centers provide personal attention,
state of the art equipment and high-quality care close to home. |
Revise the tax. Save the patient.It's a law of unintended consequences.
Faced with a budget deficit, the state legislature—in the final hours of the 2015 legislative session—approved a 6 percent healthcare tax on ambulatory surgery centers, known as ASCs. There were no hearings, no discussion and no consultation with the industry, the implications of that decision were largely unidentified, unknown and uncertain. Since then, more than 50 bills have been introduced to repeal, reduce or phase out the tax. The tax has had a chilling effect on ambulatory surgery centers. In 2014, the Connecticut Department of Labor projected a 39 percent growth rate for the industry. Today they struggle just to stay afloat. Knowing what we know now, the best option for Connecticut is for the legislature to repeal this ill-advised tax. We urge you to support efforts aimed at repeal, in the best interests of the residents of our state, in both the short term and the long term. Senate Bill 1131 currently before the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly maintains a $1 million exemption. It is a step in the right direction. Without that exemption, the tax liability of each ASC in the state would instantly increase by $60,000. Keep in mind, ASCs are small businesses – they operate efficiently to keep healthcare affordable and accessible. An extra $60,000 due in taxes can mean the difference between keeping their doors open, or not. Only four states have an ASC tax, and ours iis tax is the highest in the nation. Worse yet, it’s an “above the line” tax that has the impact of an effective tax rate of 30%. (While small businesses have the ability deduct normal business expenses before taxes, these deductions are not allowed for the ASC tax.) The tax does nothing to improve the health of Connecticut residents — just the opposite is true, as it adds to the financial burdens of those who are suffering from health issues and in need of affordable, convenient, quality care. With the imposition of the gross receipts tax, ASCs (and ultimately, the public they serve) have the worst of both worlds. They pay the taxes of a small business, and have an additional tax that higher-priced competitors—for example, hospital outpatient departments—are not required to pay. Connecticut needs to go back to the future, repeal the 6 percent gross receipts tax on ambulatory surgery centers and continue to encourage rather than discourage this sector of the healthcare industry that improves care and saves lives, reduces patient and industry costs, and pushes advances in health care that will make an enduring difference in the quality of our lives for years to come.
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Connecticut Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers
304 West Main St., Suite 2 Box #305 Avon, CT 06001 © 2016-2024 All rights reserved, Connecticut Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers |