On this April 15, filers and accountants alike are finding a
new array of taxes resulting from the president’s health care
legislation. These include at least 20 ObamaCare-related tax increases
totaling $409 billion over the next ten years, according to the Joint
Committee on Taxation.
The new taxes are especially irksome to ObamaCare opponents, because they are imposed by a law that passed on a straight party-line vote and are being enforced by an agency that some accuse of party favoritism.
"I think it's rather unfortunate that the IRS has this huge role in the Affordable Care Act because it's always controversial," said Mark Everson, a former IRS Commissioner. "Then, to tie it up with this very controversial domestic law, it just makes the job tougher," he said.
"I think you can take issue with the way ACA was paid for. But, the fact of the matter is, it’s sustainable over the long run," said Yvette Fontenot , a former Senior Policy Director at the White House Office of Health Reform.
"It slows health care cost growth for people. And it reduces the deficit, and it was in fact paid for. The Medicare prescription drug benefit that was passed by the Republicans added $400 billon to the deficit and not a dime of it was paid for," she said.
Among the new taxes:
- A Medicare Tax Increase of .9 percent for individuals earning over $200,000 or married couples earning $250,000
-A net investment income tax of 3.8 percent tax on individuals, estates, and trusts worth more $200,000 or $250,000 for joint filers.
- And an increase in the threshold for itemized deductions for medical expenses from 7.5 percent to 10 percent of gross income.
There are also new taxes on insurance companies, drug makers, and medical device manufacturers. Architects of the Affordable Care Act say those businesses can afford it, given the millions of new customers they'll be serving. "More people will have health insurance and be able to use their product more effectively," said Fontenot.
But one skeptic said the projected 10-year tax increases from ObamaCare are more than twice what the Joint Committee on Taxation forecasts. "It raises the costs of these things," said Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform. "One of the promises of ObamaCare is that it will reduce costs. These more than a trillion dollars in tax increases on health care raise the cost of health care and that's why you're seeing the price of health care, the cost of insurance, going up, not down," he said.
One study by AdvaMed, a trade association, finds the medical device tax alone may put 45,000 jobs at risk. The National Federation of Independent Businesses projects that new taxes on insurance companies may jeopardize another 125,000 to 249,000 jobs.
That figure does not include the man-hour costs of complying with 20,000 pages of regulations.
The Fox News Taxpayer Calculator breaks down the tax burden over the next 10 years by income level. If you make under $15,000: it's just over $59.00. If you make between $50,000 and $100,000, it's $6,069.90. And if you make between $200,000 and $250,000, it's $38,200.66
Those numbers appear to confirm the observation of Cato Institute Senior Fellow Michael Tanner that ObamaCare is "a wealth-transfer program with health insurance attached."
The new taxes are especially irksome to ObamaCare opponents, because they are imposed by a law that passed on a straight party-line vote and are being enforced by an agency that some accuse of party favoritism.
"I think it's rather unfortunate that the IRS has this huge role in the Affordable Care Act because it's always controversial," said Mark Everson, a former IRS Commissioner. "Then, to tie it up with this very controversial domestic law, it just makes the job tougher," he said.
"I think you can take issue with the way ACA was paid for. But, the fact of the matter is, it’s sustainable over the long run," said Yvette Fontenot , a former Senior Policy Director at the White House Office of Health Reform.
"It slows health care cost growth for people. And it reduces the deficit, and it was in fact paid for. The Medicare prescription drug benefit that was passed by the Republicans added $400 billon to the deficit and not a dime of it was paid for," she said.
Among the new taxes:
- A Medicare Tax Increase of .9 percent for individuals earning over $200,000 or married couples earning $250,000
-A net investment income tax of 3.8 percent tax on individuals, estates, and trusts worth more $200,000 or $250,000 for joint filers.
- And an increase in the threshold for itemized deductions for medical expenses from 7.5 percent to 10 percent of gross income.
There are also new taxes on insurance companies, drug makers, and medical device manufacturers. Architects of the Affordable Care Act say those businesses can afford it, given the millions of new customers they'll be serving. "More people will have health insurance and be able to use their product more effectively," said Fontenot.
But one skeptic said the projected 10-year tax increases from ObamaCare are more than twice what the Joint Committee on Taxation forecasts. "It raises the costs of these things," said Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform. "One of the promises of ObamaCare is that it will reduce costs. These more than a trillion dollars in tax increases on health care raise the cost of health care and that's why you're seeing the price of health care, the cost of insurance, going up, not down," he said.
One study by AdvaMed, a trade association, finds the medical device tax alone may put 45,000 jobs at risk. The National Federation of Independent Businesses projects that new taxes on insurance companies may jeopardize another 125,000 to 249,000 jobs.
That figure does not include the man-hour costs of complying with 20,000 pages of regulations.
The Fox News Taxpayer Calculator breaks down the tax burden over the next 10 years by income level. If you make under $15,000: it's just over $59.00. If you make between $50,000 and $100,000, it's $6,069.90. And if you make between $200,000 and $250,000, it's $38,200.66
Those numbers appear to confirm the observation of Cato Institute Senior Fellow Michael Tanner that ObamaCare is "a wealth-transfer program with health insurance attached."
Maybe Mr. Pierce should read the Gettysburg Address before he blogs his mouth off next time. If people like Sean Hannity & Fox News had not been there to cover this story, it would probably have ended much worst.
