Paulsen presses IRS on medical device tax regulations

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September 12, 2012 by MassDevice staff

Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) presses the IRS on the final rules for implementing the medical device tax, a 2.3% levy on U.S. revenues set to begin Jan. 1, 2013.

Miller said the IRS is responsible only for meeting its statutory obligation to implement the rules, telling Paulsen he couldn't comment on whether an excise tax is appropriate for medical devices.

Watch Rep. Paulsen question IRS deputy commissioner Steven Miller on the medical device tax

"We continue to hear of American companies already beginning to lay-off employees in anticipation of this dangerous new tax," Paulsen said in prepared remarks. "We need to be doing everything we can to repeal this tax not only because the administration seems to be ill prepared for its implementation, but more importantly, because it will cost this nation valuable jobs in a valuable industry."
For its part, med-tech industry lobby AdvaMed called the tax "a blunt and damaging instrument being applied to highly innovative and dynamic industry."
"The medical device tax is one of the few IRS-administered provisions that goes into effect in 2013. Even apart from the destructive $30 billion economic burden of the tax, the mechanics of implementing it will be extremely challenging both for companies and for the IRS. It is vastly more complicated than a typical excise tax, and compliance by companies in our industry will be both costly and burdensome," AdvaMed president & CEO Stephen Ubl said in a press release. "We look forward to the opportunity to continue to work with the IRS to address implementation concerns."