Besides being the largest tax hike in American history, the House Democrat health care tax increase breaks Obama’s pledge not to raise any taxes on any American making less than $250,000:
“I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.” (Barack Obama, September 12, 2008, Dover, NH)
The following tax increases will directly hit Americans making less than $250,000 per year:
- a tax on individuals failing to sign up for health care equal to the lesser of 2.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI) or the average individual premium amount. There is no income floor on this, so this would hit any uninsured American of any income
- a tax on employers for not providing a health care plan equal to 8% of payroll. This becomes 0, 4, or 6 percent of payroll as payday totals dip below $400,000 annually. This will even hit the smallest of small businesses, those making profits of less than $250,000
- codification of the "economic substance doctrine," whereby taxpayers would not be able to engage in legal tax avoidance techniques without demonstrating a bona fide business purpose. This would apply not only to large companies and wealthy individuals, but any taxpayer of any income who engages in a legal tax avoidance technique
These are only the tax increases which would fall directly on Americans making less than $250,000. This doesn’t account for the other tax increases in the bill on small businesses which will kill jobs and slash wages.
President Obama should publicly repudiate these taxes, which are a clear and direct violation of his campaign promise he made again and again in 2008 not to raise any taxes at all on families making less than $250,000.