Feel the Burn
A new bill could help small companies pump up tax deductions.
Smaller companies will be able to get fiscally fit as their
employees become physically fit if the Workforce Health Improvement
Program Act becomes law. The bill (S.772/H.R. 1634) would allow
small businesses to deduct the expense of reimbursing employees for
health-club fees. Large companies frequently provide fitness
centers on-site, the costs of which are already deductible.
The bill has support from both Republicans and Democrats in the
House and Senate, making it easier for the legislation to hurdle
obstacles on its way to passage. The legislation was originally
introduced in the 108th Congress in July 2003, but it did not move
forward--not an unusual situation for a first-time bill.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), a member of the Small Business and
Entrepreneurship Committee, hopes 2005 will be different. He and
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) are the prime Senate sponsors of the bill.
"Public health experts unanimously agree that active
lifestyles result in decreased health-care costs, reduced
governmental spending, fewer illnesses and improved worker
productivity," Cornyn says.
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The biggest hurdle the bill will have to surmount is its cost to
the federal Treasury. New tax benefits that deepen the federal
deficit are not especially popular these days. Don Stewart, a
spokesman for Cornyn, says the Joint Committee on Taxation is
planning to make an estimate of the federal revenue that will be
lost if the bill becomes law.
A number of sports, HR and employee-benefits trade associations
are supporting the bill, but no small-business groups are on the
list of supporters supplied by Cornyn's office. They may have
to start doing some heavy lifting if they want to bulk up their
bottom lines.
Stephen Barlas is a freelance business reporter who covers
the Washington Beat for 15 magazines.