Erik Paulsen: “And Members, the United States is the only country in the world that lets important parts of its Tax Code expire each…”

“And Members, the United States is the only country in the world that lets important parts of its Tax Code expire each and every year, and we are changing that here today. This bipartisan tax package prioritizes permanent tax relief for families and businesses so that they can keep more of their own money, they can hire new workers, and they can invest in new equipment. It also does include the repeal of the medical device tax that has been in place, and it stops it for the next 2 years, a tax that has cost our economy jobs and has also reduced innovation. What has been the result of this tax? One small business I spoke with said it is pretty simple. Instead of having 10 projects, I will have 6, which means 2 fewer engineers and 2 fewer technicians. Another company I spoke to says, because it is a tax on sales and not on profit, they testified it is a 79 percent effective tax rate that they have. How can anyone justify a 79 percent effective tax rate? Another company said they are borrowing money from the bank every single month just to pay the tax in the hopes and taking the risk that they will actually become profitable. Of course, a constituent I spoke to, Jim, he told the story of losing his job at a medical device company that he had for 21 years. He was laid off. He eventually was rehired, but his job paid $40,000 less, his vacation time was halved, and his health costs skyrocketed.…”