We write in opposition to the 95 percent tax on prescription medicines contained in H.R. 5376, the “Build Back Better Act.” The Senate should reject this harmful tax increase on the middle class, most notably seniors.
Section 139002 of the bill imposes a new excise tax of up to 95 percent on the gross sales of prescription medicines. The only way this tax can be avoided is if drug manufacturers submit to government-imposed price controls.
In a time of inflation levels not seen in many decades, the last thing Americans need to worry about is a new 95 percent tax on the prescription medicines they need to live healthy and fulfilling lives. A tax of this amount would nearly double the price of any prescription drug subject to it. It goes without saying that this tax would be faced by millions of Americans making far less than $400,000 per year–the very people President Biden promised not to raise taxes on.
A price control to avoid the tax isn’t a better option. Price controls have never worked throughout recorded human history. Without exception, they lead to scarcity and eventually government rationing. The end point of a price control is the government deciding who does and does not qualify for the scarce product or service. We believe that all Americans should have access to the prescription medicines they need free of government interference.
A 95 percent tax on prescription medicines under threat of price control is unnecessary. Since well before the Covid pandemic, net price growth for drugs have come in well under the general inflation rate. In fact, prescription drug prices increased around 1% in 2021, much lower than the 7% inflation rate Americans experienced during that same time period. A 95 percent drug tax and price control threat is a solution in search of a problem.
The United States is the world’s leading developer of life-saving medicines, a fact highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the 95 percent tax and price controls will dry up funding for future research and development of new drugs. The next generation of innovative drugs should not be endangered by reckless government decisions today.
The 95 percent prescription drug tax is not serious healthcare or tax policy, and should
be dropped.
Sincerely,
Charles Sauer
Market Institute
Brent Wm. Gardner
Americans for Prosperity
Ryan Ellis
Center for Free Economy
Tom Schatz
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
Lisa B. Nelson
ALEC Action
Adam Brandon
FreedomWorks
Hadley Heath Manning
Independent Women’s Voice
Pete Sepp
National Taxpayers Union
Grover Norquist
Americans For Tax Reform
Phil Kerpen
American Commitment
AnneMarie Schieber
Health Care News/Heartland Institute
Seton Motley
Less Government
Dave Wallace
Fair Energy Foundation
Jane Orient
AAPS
James Edwards
Conservatives for Property Rights
Larry Ward
Constitutional Rights PAC
Joshua Delano
Southeast Texans for Liberty
Richard Manning
Americans for Limited Government
Terry Neese
National Grassroots Network
Lovelynn Gwinn
R.I.N.O Project
Autry Pruitt
New Journey PAC
Melissa Ortiz
ble Americans
Lisa Cathie
MAGA Black
Rob Kenyon
Virginia Republican Liberty Caucus
Mary Adams
Maine Center Right Coalition
Ed Martin
Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund
Mario H. Lopez
Hispanic Leadership Fund
Annette Thompson Meeks
Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
Lauren Daugherty
Young Americans for Liberty
Sal Nuzzo
James Madison Institute
Ralph Benko
The Capitalist League
Julio Rivera
Reactionary Times
Tom Giovanetti
Institute for Policy Innovation
Kent Kaiser
Trade Alliance to Promote Prosperity
Dee Stewart
Americans for a Balanced Budget
Morton Blackwell
Conservative Leadership PAC
C. Preston Noell III
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Terry Wilcox
Patients Rising Now
Paul Morinville
RINO Reckoning
Donna Jackson
Project 21
Palmer Schoening
Family Business Coalition
Jeff Cargerman
Inventors Project
Peter Thomas
Conservative Caucus
Dick Patten
American Business Defense Council
Naomi Lopez
Goldwater
John Goodman
Goodman Institute
Bob Carlstrom
AMAC Action
Norm Singleton
US Policy
Andrew Langer
Institute for Liberty
Jim Martin
60 Plus Association
Saul Anuzis
American Association of Senior Citizens
Ashley Baker
The Committee for Justice
David Williams
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Richard Ralston
Americans for Free Choice in Medicine
Twila Brase
Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom
George Landrith
Frontiers of Freedom
Paul Gessing
Rio Grande Foundation
Christopher Sheeron
Action for Health
Susan Carleson
Carleson Center for Welfare Reform
Jeff Mazzella
Center for Individual Freedom
Katie McAuliffe
Digital Liberty
Bethany Marcum
Alaska Policy Forum
Kevin Kearns
US Business and Industry Council
John R. Toedtman
Caesar Rodney Institute
Richard Walker
Benjamin Rush Institute
Jonathan Imbody
Faith Steps
John Hinderaker
American Experiment
Andrew F. Quinlan
Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Ginevra Joyce-Myers
Center for Innovation and Free Enterprise
Tom Hebert
Open Competition Center
David Levien, MD, MBA, FACS
American College of Healthcare Trustees
Casey Given
Young Voices
Carla Howell
Center for Small Government
Karen Kerrigan
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
Yaël Ossowski
Consumer Choice Center
Jenny Beth Martin
Tea Party Patriots Action
James Davis
Fans for Fair Pay
Jim Babka
Downsize DC
Jason Vaughn Houston
Young Republicans
Robert L. Maness
GatorPAC
