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Volume 12 Number 131
ISSN 1091-4021
Tuesday, July 10, 2007

News: Taxation

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) introduced July 9 a bill (number not available) that would provide tax incentives to primarily small and medium-sized business that provide their employees with incentives to stay healthy.

The Healthy Workforce Act would provide a tax credit of up to $200 per employee for the first 200 employees and $100 per employee thereafter, to businesses that offer "qualified comprehensive wellness programs to their employees," Harkin said at a Washington, D.C., news conference.

An employer can receive the tax credit for 10 years after establishing new qualified wellness programs, according to information provided by Harkin's office.

"In America, we don't really have a health care system, we have a sick care system," Harkin said, adding the current system is inefficient in providing prevention for chronic illnesses.

"The aim of this bill is to help American businesses to provide a full range of opportunities to their employees to live healthier lives," Harkin said. "The idea is to make it easier for businesses to push more of their health care investments upstream, helping their employees to get healthy and stay healthy and to stay out of the hospital," he said.

Harkin said the bill is a "proposal for partnership" with corporate America to provide incentives for encouraging healthy lifestyles at the workplace.

"We believe that the federal government needs to proved incentives in the form of tax credits and in return we want corporate America to step more boldly into the field of wellness and health promotion," Harkin said.

Tax Credits

A business would receive the tax credit if they have created a wellness program that includes at least three of the four following components:

• a health awareness and education component, which can include health risk assessments and screenings;
  
  
• a behavioral change component, such as counseling seminars, health materials for employees to read promoting healthier lifestyles, or smoking cessation programs;
  
  
• a supportive environment component that possibly offers meaningful incentives, such as allowing employees to exercise during the day or reduced health premiums; and
  
  
• creation of an employee engagement committee which would create the program to match the needs of the employees.

Harkin said he has requested a cost estimate for the bill.