The Health Care Tax

[IndianaGreen]

The Health Care Tax

Written by the Central Committee of the Workers Party in America
Wednesday, 11 November 2009 19:02
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As much as slavish supporters of the Democratic Party don’t want to admit it, there is indeed a tax that is to be levied against those who cannot afford one of the health care plans offered out there.

Section 501 of the bill calls for a 2.5 percent tax to be imposed on any person who does not have health insurance after the individual mandate goes into effect in 2013.

This tax is calculated by taking your gross yearly income, subtracting the minimum income required to pay taxes ($8,750 for an individual, $17,500 for a couple).

So, if you are single and make $20,800 a year and don’t have health insurance, you’ll be taxed $301.25 by the government ... and you will still have to buy health insurance.

If you’re a married couple making $35,250 a year without the mandated health insurance, you’ll have to pay out $443.75.

And if you can’t afford these taxes?

According to the IRS, such willful evasion of paying taxes is a very serious crime.

Section 7201 of the tax code states that felony willful evasion of paying taxes is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years. Section 7203 says that misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.

Some liberal supporters of this bill are trying to dismiss this new tax on poor and working people, claiming that few, if any, are ever sent to jail. That’s not the point ... and it’s not even necessarily a true statement.

Most of those accused of tax evasion either pay the fines or go to jail. When you talk of workers who cannot afford health insurance being forced to pay a tax on top of that, it sets up a situation where jail is the only option left to them, because they are simply too poor to buy into the mandate.

http://www.ucpanews.com/index.php/national/73-the-health-care-tax.html

[golddigger]

1. Giving the IRS more power. But, people don't see that here.

[Demeter]

2. The Whole Damn Bill Is a Perversion and Torture of the Public

keep It Simple, Stupids! Medicare for all.

[mzmolly]

3. What this article does not mention is that health care will be subsidized

and costs will be regulated. In addition, the tax will be calculated when you file, so jail is not a possibility unless you lie.

[jillan]

4. It also raises taxes by taxing middle class worker's insurance plans...

so those of us that are lucky enough to have insurance will get a tax increase.

Isn't there anything else they could have done?

[hay rick]

5. Strange bedfellows.

Curious to see UCPA making the same misrepresentations as Matt Drudge and the right-wingers. Media Matters link on subject here: http://mediamatters.org/research/200911070007

The UCPA article states: "So, if you are single and make $20,800 a year and don’t have health insurance, you’ll be taxed $301.25 by the government ... and you will still have to buy health insurance." Actually, the tax is for those who refuse to buy insurance. If they pay the tax, they don't have to buy the insurance.

Another quote from UCPA: "Most of those accused of tax evasion either pay the fines or go to jail." Quoting from the Media Matters article (a good read)- "From the Joint Committee on Taxation letter: "Of the 666 convictions reported above for fiscal year 2008, fewer than 100 were convictions for willful failure to file or pay taxes under section 7203." 100/666 did not translate to "most" when I went to school...