Wednesday, February 25, 2015

February, 2015, Bonus Post, The Unfolding Disaster That Is Obama Care: 13 New Taxes, 13 New Lies

We had thought that yesterday would be the last update to our monthly series on the unfolding disaster that is Obama Care but we came across some interesting,m and depressing information that we decided to share now rather than wait until next month. Too many times to mention, Obama has promised that only the wealthy in this country will see higher taxes, whether it was relative to income taxes, capital gain taxes, or Obama Care-related taxes. He actually gave a cutoff point, anyone earning under $250,000 a year would not see a rise in any of their taxes, at least relative to Federal government actions.

But like every other Obama promise, e.g. if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor, Obama Care policies will not pay for abortions, he would cut the annual Federal spending deficit in half, etc. this promise also was a lie and deception. According to a recent Forbes article written by Robert W. Wood, “How Many Obamacare Taxes Are There?”, many, if not most, of the taxes embedded in the Obama Care legislation will hit every American’s wallet in one way or another.

He went ahead and listed out thirteen taxes that he knew of within the law. He also points out that the tax complexities of the Obama Care legislation are so involved that the IRS had to issue a separate 21 page document just to explain what has to be done and the numerous forms that have to be filled out as a result of the taxes in the law. Thus, this tax season will be one of far greater complexity, stress, and likely financial pain as millions of American find out that the Obama Care subsidies they enjoyed in 2014 have to be paid back this year because those subsidies were too generous.

Thus, below are the 13 taxes he found along with some comments from us and why they will affect people that are not wealthy and whose annual earnings fall below the false $250,000 threshold the President promised.

1) There is a 2.3% tax on medical device manufacturers’ revenues, not profits. This tax will obviously hurt the financial performance of device manufacturers who will likely have to pass this tax impact along to their customers who purchase and use medical devices. 

It is not only human medical device owners that will be impacted. Since many of these companies also make medical devices for animals, pet owners, farmers, and ranchers will also likely see an increase in the prices they pay for devices as the companies try to recoup some of what Obama Care has taken away.

Now, some might say that this is not a tax on consumers who earn less than $250,000 a year which would be wrong. It is an indirect increase in life passed on because of an Obama Care tax which makes it a tax increase on everyone affected.

2) 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax. This one is a big one. Depending on your income, it adds an incremental 3.8% tax on top of your interest, dividends and capital gains.

3) Employer Mandate on businesses with over 50 full-time equivalent employees to provide health insurance to full-time employees. $2000 per employee, $3000 if employee uses tax credits to buy insurance on the exchange. Same concept as point 1) above. If a small business is forced to buy insurance for their employees as mandated by Obama Care, those tax consequences are likely going to be passed along to the patrons of those businesses as those businesses just try to stay whole after being hit with an Obama Care tax. 

As an example, there have been a number of press stories where restaurants are actually itemizing the cost of Obama Care on diners’ bills, clearly showing why the cost of food in those restaurants has gone up as a result of Obama Care. An additional fee on eating is a tax despite what Obama might call it.

4) 40% Excise Tax on high-end (Cadillac) Health Insurance Plans (40% excise tax on the portion of employer-sponsored health coverage that exceeds $10,200 a year and $27,500 for families). This will hit a lot of Americans earning far less than $250,000 since many union contracts have these so-called Cadillac insurance plans negotiated into them and last time I checked, most union members do not earn more than a quarter million dollars a year.

5) Medical Deduction Threshold tax increase (threshold to deduct medical expenses as an itemized deduction increases to 10% from 7.5%). Any American with substantial medical expenses, regardless of income levels, will end up paying more since Obama moved the goal posts out for those that might be able to get some relief from high medical bills.

6) Individual Mandate (a tax for not purchasing insurance, though the tax penalty is called a Shared Responsibility Payment, the greater of 1% of your income above the filing threshold of $10,150 for singles and $20,300 for married couples filing jointly or $95 per adult ($47.50 per child), with a maximum of $285 for a family, whichever is higher. It goes up in 2015. Obviously, when the tax or “shared responsibility payment” starts at around $10,000, you are not talking about a tax on just the wealthy.

7) Excise Tax on Charitable Hospitals which fail to comply with the requirements of Obama Care. Taxing hospitals will result in less money in their efforts to provide medical care to the sick, likely resulting in all income levels paying more for services from charitable hospitals.

8) Elimination of tax deduction for employer-provided retirement Rx drug coverage in coordination with Medicare Part D. Since most employers provide drug coverage for a lot of Americans earning under $250,000 a year, their will likely be additional fees incurred on all income level Americans as a result of this provision.

9) Medicare Part A Tax increase of .9% over $200k/$250k. Okay, so maybe this one only affects the wealthier earners.

10) An annual $63 fee levied by Obama Care on all plans (decreased each year until 2017 when pre-existing conditions are eliminated) to help pay for insurance companies covering the costs of high-risk pools. All plans means all Americans, not just the wealthy.

11) Medicine Cabinet Tax (over the counter medicines no longer qualify as medical expenses for flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), health savings accounts (HSAs), and Archer Medical Saving accounts (MSAs). Again, taxation by removing a benefit for all Americans who have the foresight and initiative to do the right thing by saving on their own for medical expenses.

12) Additional Tax on HSA/MSA Distributions. Again, on all HSAs meaning most Americans who have one.

13) Health savings accounts or Archer medical savings accounts, penalties for non-qualified medical expenses of 10% to 20% in the case of a HSA and from 15% to 20% for an MSA. Fees and penalties for all Americans who violate these rules.

Obviously, the over $250,000 promise is a joke when it comes to this President keeping his promises. I do not know which is worse, the fact that this President continually lies or that millions of Americans still believe anything that comes out of his mouth. Everything, every promise, every assertion has been false.

All of these hassles, all of these incremental expenses, all of these lies, all of this stress, all for a program that has no chance of ever succeeding in bringing down the high cost of health care in this country.

More unfolding Obama Care disasters next month….unfortunately.



Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:

www.loathemygovernmobama,washington post,politifactent.com

It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.

Please visit the following sites for freedom:

Term Limits Now: http://www.howmuchworsecoulditget.com
http://www.reason.com
http://www.cato.org
http://www.bankruptingamerica.org

http://www.conventionofstates.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w





No comments: