Pa. operators blast Gov. Rendell's health tax plan

Nation's Restaurant News,  April 9, 2007  

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Harrisburg, PA. -- Restaurateurs and other business operators in Pennsylvania have assailed Gov. Ed Rendell's plan to levy a payroll tax to fund state-subsidized health insurance.

Rendell said he wants to tax some 100,000 employers who do not currently offer health coverage to their workers. Under the so-called play-or-pay plan, employers with more than 50 workers would pay 3 percent of their payroll--called a "fair share assessment"--for the first three years. In the fourth year, the rate would rise to 3.5 percent. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees would be exempt for the first year.

Opponents argue that Rendell's plan might persuade some employers to jettison their private health coverage if they find state-subsidized insurance is cheaper.

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