The "No Tax Breaks for Radical Corporate Activism Act" prohibits employers from deducting expenses related to employee travel for abortions or gender transition procedures for minor children, defining gender transition procedures and related medical interventions.
Brian Mast
Representative
FL-21
The "No Tax Breaks for Radical Corporate Activism Act" prohibits employers from deducting expenses related to reimbursing employees for abortion-related travel or gender transition procedures for their minor children. Gender transition procedures are defined as medical or surgical services that alter or remove physical traits of one's biological sex, with exceptions for treatments of verifiable disorders of sex development or treatments for conditions caused by gender transition procedures. This applies to taxable years beginning after the law is enacted.
No Tax Breaks for Abortion Travel or Minor Gender-Affirming Care: New Bill Targets Corporate Benefits
The "No Tax Breaks for Radical Corporate Activism Act" aims to change what employee-related health benefits companies can deduct from their taxes. Specifically, it blocks companies from deducting expenses for two things: employee travel costs for abortions, and any gender-affirming care for employees' minor children (under 18). This goes into effect for tax years starting after the bill becomes law.
Breaking Down the Ban
This bill isn't just about surgeries; it gets pretty specific about what counts as a "gender transition procedure." We're talking puberty blockers, hormone therapy (like estrogen for males or testosterone for females), and a range of surgeries, both genital and non-genital. (Section 2). The bill does carve out exceptions for medically verifiable genetic conditions and treatment needed because of complications from prior gender-affirming procedures.
If a company does cover these costs, they can no longer write them off as business expenses. This could impact companies that currently offer comprehensive health benefits, potentially leading them to scale back those offerings to avoid the tax hit. Think of it like this: if a company helps a worker's child with gender-affirming care, or helps an employee travel to another state for an abortion, that company can't deduct those costs anymore. For example, a tech firm in California that currently covers travel for an employee's abortion would no longer get a tax break for doing so.
Real-World Ripple Effects
This bill could create some tricky situations. For example, if a company has offices in multiple states, some with abortion restrictions and some without, they'll have to navigate differing tax implications for helping employees access reproductive healthcare. Similarly, a construction company with a nationwide workforce might have to reconsider benefits related to gender-affirming care for employees' kids.
It also raises questions about how companies will handle benefits packages moving forward. Will they reduce coverage to avoid these tax penalties? Will they create different tiers of benefits based on location? These are practical challenges businesses will face if this becomes law.