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Small Business
Talent eyes health reform
March 5, 1999: 3:05 p.m. ET

House gets bill to give 100% health-care deductibility to self-employed
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - House Small Business Committee Chairman Jim Talent introduced a bill Friday that would make health insurance costs for the self-employed fully deductible.
     The bill, H.R. 980, addresses the growing problem of inadequate health coverage among small businesses and their employees.
     According to statistics from the SBC, more than 3 million self-employed small business owners and their employees have no health insurance. An additional 2 million of their children and dependents also lack health insurance as a result.
     Under current tax laws, the self-employed can deduct only 60 percent of health-care costs, while large corporations can deduct 100 percent.
     In 1998, Congress passed legislation to allow the self-employed full deductibility in the year 2003. However, five years is an eternity for small business owners with no health-care coverage, and struggling start-ups with little capital can ill afford to wait for 2003 to benefit from full deductibility.
     "It's a question of fairness," said Talent. "Small and family businesses deserve to have the same deduction for health-care costs as Fortune 500 companies."
     The "Self-employed Health Insurance Fairness Act of 1999" would give the self-employed immediate relief by:
  • Making health care more affordable
  • Expanding access to health care
  • Simplifying taxes
  • Ending Congress' unfair track record on the health-care costs of small business
  • Delivering on a top, small business tax priority

     Talent said he is confident that Congress will "cross the goal line and immediately offer the more than 5 million uninsured men, women, and children the opportunity for health care coverage." Back to top

  RELATED STORIES

100% deductible health coverage? - Sep. 16, 1998

Small biz may get a tax break - March 20, 1998

  RELATED SITES

Small Business Administration

U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business


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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.