AdvaMed looks beyond device-tax repeal to urge broad tax code reform

The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) has come up with a set of principles on tax reform that, if enacted, would create jobs, grow the economy, develop new cures and treatments and “help ensure America’s global leadership in medical technology.” The group made the claim in a Feb. 7 news release.

AdvaMed said it developed the principles to make sure the medical device industry has a voice in the coming debate about tax reform—a signal that the group is looking beyond the medical device tax due to go live next January as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. AdvaMed has been speaking out against the tax for months, renewing its call Feb. 3 when the IRS released guidance on which devices will and will not be taxable.

“This isn’t about healthcare reform,” said Steven J. Ubl, AdvaMed president and CEO. “Repealing the device tax is the first down payment on a much-needed reform of America’s tax code.”

Among the tax-reform principles AdvaMed is promoting in a Feb. 7 white paper:
  • Tax reform should provide a level playing field for medical device companies competing in world markets.
  • Tax reform should encourage retention and expansion of jobs in the U.S. by providing tax incentives comparable to or better than our competitor nations.
  • Tax reform should provide incentives for investment in R&D, which is key to the growth of knowledge-based, high value-added industries on which economic future of the U.S. depends.
  • Tax reform should encourage the availability of capital for small and start-up companies that play a vital role in inventing and developing breakthrough technologies.

Ubl said the principles are “broadly applicable to all knowledge-based manufacturing industries,” adding that the U.S. tax system “too often creates disincentives to growth and job creation that are a major competitive disadvantage for our economy.”

Dave Pearson

Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.

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