Tax reforms could target benefits offered by employers
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NEW YORK — The tax treatment of employer-provided health benefits could be affected by future tax reform, according to a veteran Washington lobbyist.
In fact, there’s “great concern” among members of the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers and employers that employer-provided benefits would provide a “tempting target” for lawmakers hoping to achieve comprehensive tax reform, said Joel Wood, senior vice president of the Washington-based council.
During his closing keynote address at Business Insurance’s Risk Management Summit in New York, Mr. Wood also said that some parts of the Affordable Care Act could be reopened during the current Congress.
Mr. Wood described last year’s failed attempt to renew the federal government’s terrorism insurance backstop as a “nightmare.” The program actually lapsed after the Senate failed to move on an extension bill in December. The new Congress made approving legislation extending the program through the end of 2020 its first major legislative action in January.
Mr. Wood noted that former Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., has been blamed for blocking reauthorization because he objected to a provision that created the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers. But Mr. Wood said that Senate Democrats also played a role in preventing reauthorization because they objected to a non-insurance related provision that amended a portion of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
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