ERIC Submits Letter Asking House to Support Cadillac Tax Delay in Omnibus Bill

The Honorable Paul Ryan
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Speaker Ryan and Minority Leader Pelosi,

We are writing to you in support of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 and the provisions related to the delay of the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) 40 percent excise tax on health care plans.  We urge you to vote for the bill.

The ERISA Industry Committee (“ERIC”) is the only national trade association advocating solely for the employee benefits and compensation interests of the country’s largest employers.  ERIC supports the ability of its large employer members to tailor health, retirement and compensation benefits for millions of employees, retirees and their families.  ERIC’s members provide comprehensive retirement benefits to tens of millions of active and retired workers and their families.

ERIC supports the two-year delay of the 40 percent excise tax included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016.  Delaying the application of this tax from 2018 to 2020 would be a welcome relief for our members and their employees.  The administrative complexity and challenges placed on employers to compute it are unprecedented, and this tax will have nothing but negative effects on American companies and their workers. We also fully support allowing employers to deduct the tax.

While ERIC is supportive of the two-year delay, we continue to advocate for the full repeal of the tax.  This tax could be detrimental to the health of millions of employees and their families if employers are forced to curtail their health benefits in order to avoid the tax.  The addition of the tax on top of the rising costs of health care would make it very difficult for ERIC members to continue to offer high-quality, cost-efficient health care benefits.  We look forward to working with you in the new year to fully repeal the tax.

Respectfully,

Annette Guarisco Fildes
President & CEO
The ERISA Industry Committee