Sorry this took a while, but the excellent folks at Americans for Tax Reform had to plow through 1990 pages of health care reform in order to find all the little golden nuggets that will make the tax man jump for joy.
Ryan Ellis reports that ATR has discovered no less than 13 new taxes in the bill. Among them:
Employer Mandate Excise Tax (Page 275): If an employer does not pay 72.5 percent of a single employee's health premium (65 percent of a family employee), the employer must pay an excise tax equal to 8 percent of average wages. Small employers (measured by payroll size) have smaller payroll tax rates of 0 percent (<$500,000), 2 percent ($500,000-$585,000), 4 percent ($585,000-$670,000), and 6 percent ($670,000-$750,000).Individual Mandate Surtax (Page 296): If an individual fails to obtain qualifying coverage, he must pay an income surtax equal to the lesser of 2.5 percent of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) or the average premium. MAGI adds back in the foreign earned income exclusion and municipal bond interest.
Medicine Cabinet Tax (Page 324): Non-prescription medications would no longer be able to be purchased from health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). Insulin excepted.
Cap on FSAs (Page 325): FSAs would face an annual cap of $2500 (currently uncapped).
Increased Additional Tax on Non-Qualified HSA Distributions (Page 326): Non-qualified distributions from HSAs would face an additional tax of 20 percent (current law is 10 percent). This disadvantages HSAs relative to other tax-free accounts (e.g. IRAs, 401(k)s, 529 plans, etc.)
Denial of Tax Deduction for Employer Health Plans Coordinating with Medicare Part D (Page 327): This would further erode private sector participation in delivery of Medicare services.
Feel left out? Don't worry, there's plenty more where those came from.
Generally speaking, it appears that the burden will fall primarily on businesses. So instead of hiring someone to be productive, that money will go to the government instead.
This is a jobs killing bill as much as it is a power grab for control of the health care system. It shows just how far the Democrats are willing to go - delay or destroy any recovery - in order for government to get their hands on the health care system.
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