CBO: Obamacare Raises Taxes on Middle Class
- 600,000 Americans – Who Live In Families That Earn Less Than The Federal Poverty Level Of $24,600 Per Year – Will Be Subjected To The Individual Mandate Tax In Obamacare. (“Payments Of Penalties For Being Uninsured Under The Affordable Care Act,” Congressional Budget Office, 9/12)
- 1.2 Million Americans – Who Live In Families That Earn Between $24,600 And $49,200 Per Year – Will Be Subjected To The Individual Mandate Tax In Obamacare. (“Payments Of Penalties For Being Uninsured Under The Affordable Care Act,” Congressional Budget Office, 9/12)
- 1.2 Million Americans – Who Live In Families That Earn Between $49,200 And $73,800 Per Year – Will Be Subjected To The Individual Mandate Tax In Obamacare. (“Payments Of Penalties For Being Uninsured Under The Affordable Care Act,” Congressional Budget Office, 9/12)
- 1.1 Million Americans – Who Live In Families That Earn Between $73,800 And $98,400 Per Year – Will Be Subjected To The Individual Mandate Tax In Obamacare. (“Payments Of Penalties For Being Uninsured Under The Affordable Care Act,” Congressional Budget Office, 9/12)
- 600,000 Americans – Who Live In Families That Earn Between $98,400 And $123,000 Per Year – Will Be Subjected To The Individual Mandate Tax In Obamacare. (“Payments Of Penalties For Being Uninsured Under The Affordable Care Act,” Congressional Budget Office, 9/12)
- During Debates Over Obamacare, The Obama White House Emphasized That President Obama’s Middle-Class Tax Pledge “Didn’t Come With Caveats.” REPORTER: “The President’s opposition to tax increases for the middle income. Does that apply to the health care bill, and specifically to this idea about taxing health insurance premiums?” ROBERT GIBBS: “Taxing?” REPORTER: “Health insurance premiums.” GIBBS: “Well, I mean it’s — the statement didn’t come with caveats.” (Press Briefing By Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, Washington, D.C., 4/15/09)
Good News! Obamacare to Slam the Economy with $1 Trillion in New Taxes
Call it a penalty, call it a tax. Call it a “penalty tax” as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has.
Call it what you will, we’ll just call it ‘devastating’.
Beltway Confidential reports:
President Obama’s health care law raises taxes by $1 trillion, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office.
The individual mandate — which the CBO calls a “penalty tax,” in apparent deference to Chief Justice John Roberts — will produce $55 billion in “penalty payments by uninsured individuals,” the CBO told House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, in a Tuesday letter. Of course, the framers of the law didn’t design the mandate as a tax, and so it produces less revenue than any other provision in the bill.
The “additional hospital insurance tax” is the largest tax increase in Obamacare, projected to bring in $318 billion in new revenues. According to the 2010 report from the Journal of Accountancy, this tax hits “high-income tax payers” — individuals making over $125,000 a year or households making over $250,000 a year.
It may hit so-called high-income tax payers, but it will most certainly have an effect on lower-income families as well.
This from the Tax Policy Blog:
Though Obama vowed not to raise taxes on low-to-middle income Americans, various provisions will most certainly fall on lower income groups. For example, new annual taxes on health insurance providers, drug manufacturers, and the medical device industry will be passed on to all consumers in the form of higher prices and premiums. More direct are new taxes on high-cost “Cadillac” health plans, the tax on tanning services that is already in effect, and the individual mandate tax/penalty.
Regarding the tax/penalty for not purchasing health insurance, my analysis indicates that many low and middle-income households will experience tax increases of substantial magnitude. For example, starting in 2016, an uninsured family of four with income of $50,000 will owe $2,085—or 4.17 percent of income. As shown in the table above, the individual mandate represents a $55 billion tax increase over 10 years, and this is before it is fully phased in.
With high- and low-income earners alike having to worry about massive tax increases, the Obamatax should do wonders for the economy, particularly in the areas of spending and consumer confidence.
Here is a video reminder of Obama saying, “You don’t raise taxes in a recession”.