That’s what some GOP senators are proposing right now, and who they are proposing it on behalf of is quite amusing.
via The Hill
Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) are winning praise for a bill to kill the Affordable Care Act’s tax on health insurance. [...]
The bill’s introduction comes alongside a new industry report saying the coverage tax will cost 146,000 to 262,000 jobs by 2022, with the majority of losses hitting small businesses.
The National Federation of Independent Business, which produced that report, praised the bill along with the health insurance lobby.
The damning report which says the Obamacare tax on insurance plans will kill hundreds of thousands of jobs was prepared by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) which, in case you forgot, is the organization that challenged Obamacare at the Supreme Court and lost. See: NFIB vs Sebelius
The NFIB’s claims that the tax would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs was called a “whopper” by Factcheck.org.
What The Hill does not mention is that the tax will only apply to those with incomes in excess of $250,000 for families and $200,000 for an individual, and funds raised through this tax will be used to fund Medicare Part A.
From the IRS:
The 0.9 percent Additional Medicare Tax applies to an individual’s wages, Railroad Retirement Tax Act compensation, and self-employment income that exceeds a threshold amount based on the individual’s filing status. The threshold amounts are $250,000 for married taxpayers who file jointly, $125,000 for married taxpayers who file separately, and $200,000 for all other taxpayers. An employer is responsible for withholding the Additional Medicare Tax from wages or compensation it pays to an employee in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year.
This tax also will not affect employers with 50 or fewer employees.
The health insurance tax is a necessary segment of the law that will prevent it from increasing the deficit. Do Senators Barrasso and Hatch love the deficit?