Spreading the wealth around ...

Here are just the bullet point references to taxes in the 2000 page, trillion dollar health care bill that Harry Reid will introduce for cloture (a vote to and debate & get to a floor vote - the last chance for the GOP to stop it) THIS Saturday. On a Saturday! If the American people "want" this, why on earth a weekend session?

The individual mandate tax starting in 2014 anyone not buying qualifying health insurance (government approved health insurance) must pay an income surtax according to the following schedule: If you are single in 2014 you pay an extra $95, in 2015 you will pay an extra $350 and in 2015 an extra $750.

If you are single plus one, 2015 you pay $700, and 2016 you will pay $1500. In an additional health care surtax.

In 2014 you are going to pay $285, 2015 you will pay $1,050 and 2016 - this is just the surcharge.

If you decide not to buy "qualifying" health insurance you will pay an extra $2,250. If you are a single person with two kids by 2016 you will only have to pay a maximum of 8% of your income, it's capped at 8%. So it will only be an extra 8 percent income tax.

There are some exemptions if you have religious objections, if you are an undocumented immigrant, if you are a prison or if you earn less than the poverty line, if you are a member of the Indian tribes or if you have a hardship case as determined by HHS.

The employer mandate tax (this one is on page 348 and this is also like the other one awaiting the CPO score). If an employer does not offer health care coverage and at least one employee, at least one employee qualifies for a health tax credit the employer must pay an additional nondeductible tax of $750 for all full-time employees.

Only for big businesses? With more than 50 employees? No, for everybody, only one employee has to qualify.

If the employee requires a waiting period to enroll there is a $400 tax per employee, $600 if the period is 60 days.

The excise tax on comprehensive health insurance plans starting in 2013, a new 40 percent excise tax on "Cadillac" health insurance plans which if your health insurance plan is worth $8,500 a year as a single, or $2,3,000 as a family, -- $23,000 as a family, okay, then your company will get a 40 percent excise tax on that.

The problem is they set the "Cadillac" bar so low that it is projected that from 2013 to 2015 the 17 highest cost states are going to be at 120 percent of this level! 17 states have insurance regulations in such a way that the only private plans offered will exceed the "Cadillac" threshold & their employer will be taxed 40% for the plan. You think the employers in those 17 states will be able to maintain their private insurance programs?

On page 12,997, section 9003 there is the medicine cabinet tax. You are no longer allowed to use health savings accounts, you are no longer allowed to use flexible spending accounts or health reimbursement on pretax dollars to purchase nonprescription over-the-counter medicines except for insulin.

Also in the Senate health care bill the HSA (Health Savings Accounts) withdraw tax hike increases additional taxes on nonmedical early withdrawals from a HSA from 10 to 20 percent. Disadvantaging them relative to the IRA's and other tax advantage accounts which will remain at 10 percent. Then the FSA (Flexible Spending Account) cap imposes a cap on FSA's of $2,500. Now it is unlimited. Corporate 1099 miscellaneous information reporting this is going to require businesses to send a 1099 MISC information tax forms to corporations currently limited to individuals, a huge compliance burden for small employers. Oh, and there is the excise tax on charitable hospitals ...

Excise tax on charitable hospitals - $50,000 per hospital if they fail to meet the new community health assessment needs, financial assistance & bill/collection rules - children's hospitals, TAXED.

Then there is the tax on drug companies - a $2.3 billion annual tax on the industry imposed relative to the share of sales made that year.

Then there is a tax on medical device manufacturing - a $2 billion annual tax on the industry imposed relative to shares of sales made that year. Exempts items are those retailing for less than $100.

Then there is on the third page of just the quick summary there is the tax on health insurance - $6.7 billion annual tax on industry imposed relative to health insurance premiums collected that year, and then they are going to eliminate the tax deduction for employer provided retirement prescription drug coverage in coordination with Medicare part D. It is going to raise the haircut for medical itemized deductions from 7.5 percent to 10 percent of AGI (Adjusted Gross Income).
That's waived now for taxpayers who are 65 plus but that is only between the years of 2013 and 2016. And then $500,000 annual executive compensation limit for health insurance executives.

There is the hike in Medicare payroll tax - the new rate takes ithe tax up for those earning over $200,000 per year - so much for the $250k campaign promise. The self-employment net income is a 2.9 percent tax as of now - the new rate is 1.45 percent for you but 1.95 for the employer which equals 3.4 percent to the self employed! The .5 percent new rate addition is not deductible by the way for the self-employment.

Then there is the blue cross blue shield tax hike. Special tax deduction in current law for blue cross blue shield companies would only be allowed if 85 percent or more of premium revenues are sent on clinical services.

Then there is the tax on cosmetic medical procedures, a new 5 percent excise tax on elective cosmetic surgery to be paid by the surgery payment.

Anyone want to guess what this will do to health care in this country? To our economy? Does this sound like it is set up to cover only the 31 million people?

Time to call your senator ... NOW.

Source: whitehouse.gov