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SmartBrief Survey: Device Tax Return Will Trigger Job, R&D Cuts

WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than half of medical device company employees expect reinstatement of the medical device excise tax in 2020 to lead both to job losses and cuts to research and development programs, according to a new survey by a top industry and business news publisher, SmartBrief.

“First the experts at the Tax Foundation predicted more than 21,000 lost jobs if the tax goes back into effect,” said AdvaMed President and CEO Scott Whitaker. “Then an internal survey by one of the country’s largest regional medtech associations showed most medtech company leaders preparing for a hiring freeze or R&D cuts or both. And now we have another study of medtech employees, more than half of whom expect jobs and R&D to be cut. The entire industry has seen this before, and that’s why they’re all bracing to see it again if Congress doesn’t stop this tax from going into effect on New Year’s Day.”

The SmartBrief survey found that 18.63 percent of respondents were concerned that reinstatement of the device tax would cause companies to cut back on R&D spending while 16.67 percent feared layoffs would occur. Another 6.86 percent predicted a hiring freeze and 5.88 percent thought there would be other general spending cuts. However, a majority of respondents (51.96 percent) selected “All of the above,” expecting each of the scenarios to take place should the tax return.