The health care bill of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cleared for debate this week in the U.S. Senate includes massive new tax increases, nearly a half trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare, a government takeover of health care, and higher insurance premiums.
One of the more indefensible taxes is the Individual Mandate Tax. Starting in 2014, those who do not purchase “qualifying” health insurance must pay an income surtax as high as $2,200 for a family of four.
Another tax is the Employer Mandate Tax. It states that if an employer does not offer health coverage, and at least one employee qualifies for a health tax credit, the employer must pay an additional non-deductible tax of $750 for all full-time employees. For millions of small business owners, this is a job-killing tax.
A new Excise Tax on Comprehensive Health Insurance Plans penalizes the most expensive health insurance policies, so-called “Cadillac” policies. Supposedly aimed at the wealthy, this tax will fall hardest on many of the nation’s high-risk jobs such as, firefighters and coal miners are Cadillac policies.
The bill also includes an Excise Tax on Charitable Hospitals, stating that hospitals will be charged $50,000 each if they fail to meet new “community health assessment needs,” “financial assistance,” and “billing and collection” rules and regulations set by HHS.
To read more about the taxes, fees, and gigantic new bureaucracies contained in Harry Reid’s bill, click here.
