Obamacare Destroys 1,000 Jobs at Stryker Corp.

What is the medical device tax?

The $20 billion tax was included in the Affordable Care Act that was signed into law in 2010. The amount is based on a 2.3% excise tax that will be levied on the total revenues of a company, regardless of whether a company generates a profit, starting in 2013. Many companies will owe more in taxes than they generate from their operations. The result will be devastating to innovation, patient care and job creation.

EXHIBIT A:

Nov. 10 (Reuters) - "Medical device maker Stryker Corp (NYSE: SYK) said it will cut 5 percent, or about 1,000 jobs to largely offset costs related to the scheduled implementation of the new Medical Device Excise Tax in 2013.

"While it is still uncertain whether the device tax will exist in its current form come 2013, we believe that companies across the space will make moves to mitigate the P&L impact of the new excise tax," Susquehanna International Group analyst David Turkaly wrote in a note.

The maker of hip and knee replacements and surgical products, which expects to save about $100 million from the restructuring, said it will record $85-$95 million of the entire $150-$175 million charge in the current quarter. Stryker expects to complete the restructuring activity by 2012-end."

MP: Should it be any surprise to the Obama administration that we've got a sub-par recovery with weak job creation, when there are massive job-killing regulatory reforms pending in the  form of Obamacare and Dodd-Frank, along with uncertainty about future environmental regulations and future taxes, and anti-job decisions like the delay of the Keystone XL pipeline?

HT: Buddy Pacifico