Ok, I'll play briefly.
The first one: http://www.welchally...108-1347298660449
In making the announcement, Welch Allyn said these actions will proactively prepare the company to address the new onerous U.S. Medical Device Tax scheduled to begin in 2013 as mandated in the Affordable Care Act, as well as other significant changes driven by healthcare reform and market dynamics. The company will also perform a 90-day evaluation of its European operations to determine the optimal deployment of the business in that important market, and reorganize its Latin America business to be more competitive in the region.
Gee. I wonder how much of reason is driven by that other stuff and not by the "onerous" tax. Could it be that the tax is just a convenient whipping boy? "It's not my fault that we need to fire people, it's that evil Government's fault."
The "onerous" tax is all of 2.3% on the sales price - http://www.irs.gov/u...y-Asked-Questions It doesn't apply to eyeglasses and similar things purchased by the public at retail.
I thought that our Republican economist friends always said that business taxes are always passed on to the consumer. Are they now saying they aren't? Are they saying that somehow medical device manufacturers won't sell as many devices if they have to collect a 2.3% tax? How could that be if the devices are truly medically necessary?
Cry me a river, Steve Meyer and FreedomWorks.
Cheers,
Scott.