William M. Thomas: “And beyond that, it is even the kind of company that one decides to form, because under current law, depending upon the…”

“And beyond that, it is even the kind of company that one decides to form, because under current law, depending upon the way in which you organize your company, you get the benefit or not. If he is self-employed, if he has a proprietorship structure, then the individual who is self-employed gets a zero deduction. There is a question of equity here, as well. I find it ironic that the President, and those who support an employer mandate, are talking about requiring employers to pay 80 percent of the health care cost when the self-employed now pay 100 percent. There is no ability to write off any of that amount. And it seems to me that one of the first things we need to do is look at the inequity of the Tax Code in terms of corporations being able to have that. Mr. Speaker, I also find it ironic that the President and the majority leader of the Senate and now, I guess, the Education and Labor Committee, the subcommittee, is beginning to look at modifications to the President's original structure, which was the 80-20 employer mandate with a subsidy to both small and large business.”