But it's "only" 2.3%! How can such a tiny tax have such a large negative impact? That's the thinking of the excise tax supporters who think that the medical device industry can "easily afford" the tax (New York Times) and besides, they deserve it because they're "anti-competitive": A new survey says Obamacare's tax on medical device manufacturers has cost the industry about 33,000 jobs. In a report this week, the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) said companies cut about 14,000 workers and decided not to hire about 19,000 workers because of the The report also said the 2.3 percent excise tax also forced three-quarters of respondents to defer or cancel capital projects, reduce investment in start-ups or defer raises for their employees. The medical device tax is one of several taxes built into the Affordable Care Act to help pay for the reforms. But it has been attacked by both sides of the political aisle as a job-killer that harms a growing business...(Read Full Post)