Subject: Tax Treatment of Healthcare Benefits Comment: I believe it would be extremely detrimental for the tax deduction businesses receive for providing healthcare benefits to their employees to be reduced in any manner. In addition, I believe it would be detrimental to tax employees on the value of their healthcare benefits. Taxing in either situation would lead to employers discontinuing to provide benefits and/or employees dropping their healthcare benefits. This would cause the roles of uninsured to increase dramatically which would increase the burden on the federal and state governments. Employer sponsored healthcare plans now subsidize government programs by reimbursing the shortfall created by the government's lower reimbursement to healthcare providers. No changes should be made in the tax treatment of benefits. |