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August 13, 2009
We welcome our new taxes under Obamacare
This Washington Times editorial better not be widely quoted. The reason is, it's a great big secret that no one is supposed to tattle - the Obamacare bill contains massive tax increases:
The bill does contain new taxes -- plenty of them. Pages 167 and 168 impose an income tax of 2.5 percent on any individual who chooses not to buy government-approved health insurance. Pages 149-150 impose a tax of between 2 percent and 8 percent on the payrolls of all companies whose payrolls exceed $250,000. Pages 197 and 198 outline income tax surcharges to be imposed on individuals with incomes over $350,000, rising to a highest surcharge of 5.4 percent.
Meanwhile, as the bill specifically acknowledges imposing a tax without counting it as a tax, it also imposes all sorts of requirements that act as indirect taxes under names such as "mandates" and "requirements." Page 146 requires employers to provide insurance even for part-time workers. Page 280 begins to outline a penalty for hospitals that are adjudged to have "excess readmissions." Federal bureaucrats, of course, will determine which patient readmissions are reasonable and which are excessive. The bureaucrats will do this by following the simple rules for such determinations laid out on pages 281 and 282 ... and 283 ... and 284, 285, 286, and ... oh, forget it; we got lost.
There's more - much more - laid out in impossible to understand legalese. The Obama administration apparently wants to punish people who fail to appreciate the brilliance of their plans by taxing the hell out of them. There also appear to be taxes just because Obama likes new taxes and wants to gobble up more of your paycheck to fund some of his other schemes.
What do you suppose people would say if this got out and made a hash of Obama's pledge not to tax anyone but the rich?
Hat tip: Ed Lasky