WASHINGTON & SAN DIEGO & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), the trade association representing California’s life sciences industry, today commended the U.S. House and U.S. Senate’s action to suspend until December 2019 the job and innovation destroying 2.3% medical device excise tax levied on medical device firms. The tax was originally established as part of the Affordable Care Act. The device tax moratorium was included as a provision of H.R. 195, a short-term federal government funding bill, which passed both chambers today. This statement can be attributed to Sara Radcliffe, President & CEO, California Life Sciences Association:
“California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) applauds the House and Senate passage of legislation that temporarily suspends the ill-conceived 2.3% medical device tax for an additional 2 years, until December 2019. Since its inception, this tax has only hindered innovation and investment in medical technology research and development.
“While our membership, comprised of the nation’s leading medical technology innovators, certainly welcomes an additional 2-year reprieve from the tax, CLSA will continue to advocate for full and permanent repeal, so that the U.S. does not jeopardize our position as a global leader in medical technology innovation.”
Impact of the Tax: According to CLSA’s newly released 2018 California Life Sciences Industry Report, California is home to 1,796 medical device firms employing over 77,200 people – more firms and employees than any other state in the nation, and representing 18.5% of the nation’s med tech workforce – making the impact of the tax on our state particularly troublesome.
- Click here to view CLSA’s Legislative Action Center.
- To learn more about California’s life sciences industry, visit www.califesciencesindustry.com.
About California Life Sciences Association (CLSA)
California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) is the state’s largest and most influential life sciences advocacy and business leadership organization. With offices in Sacramento, San Diego, South San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington DC, CLSA works closely with industry, government, academia and others to shape public policy, improve access to innovative technologies and grow California’s life sciences economy. CLSA serves biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics companies, research universities and institutes, investors and service providers throughout the Golden State. CLSA was founded in 2015 when the Bay Area Bioscience Association (BayBio) and the California Healthcare Institute (CHI) merged. Visit CLSA at www.califesciences.org, and follow us on Twitter @CALifeSciences, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
