Medical device manufacturers have now paid an estimated $1 billion to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for the medical device excise tax, according to several groups representing medical device manufacturers.
Under the 2.3% tax, device manufacturers are required to pay an estimated average of $194 million per month in medical device tax payments (with a payment of approximately $97 million due semimonthly).
The device tax has denied device manufacturers resources that would have otherwise been available to invest in R&D and to support jobs across the U.S., according to the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance (MITA), the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), and the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA).
There has been bipartisan support for repeal of the tax in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but Congress cannot "wait any longer to repeal this burdensome tax and protect jobs and essential R&D funding," MITA said.
In March, a bipartisan coalition of 79 senators voted to adopt an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2014 Senate Budget Resolution to repeal the medical device tax. In the House, Reps. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) and Ron Kind (D-WI) introduced the Protect Medical Innovation Act, garnering a bipartisan group that has grown to 253 co-sponsors, including 34 Democrats, since its introduction.
