Writing in FoxNews.com, ATR president Grover Norquist highlighted the numerous conservative changes present in the Senate’s Healthcare bill.

Norquist noted the establishment media’s failure to mention the tax cuts to middle-class Americans that would come from passage of the Senate’s healthcare reform bill. Norquist also stated that the bill will stimulate competition and enact drastic entitlement reform:

First, the bill repeals a total of $700 billion dollars in ObamaCare taxes that raise the cost of care, restrict choice, and hurt economic growth.

Second, the BCRA strengthens tax-preferred Health Savings Accounts, so that families are better able to save for health care expenses.

Third, the bill allows states to implement health care systems that work for families in the real world. No longer will we have a one size fits all system dreamed up by bureaucrats in Washington and policed by the IRS.

Fourth, the BCRA enacts long overdue entitlement reform that reins in out of control spending while ensuring the truly needy are protected.

Read the full piece here.

The Senate health bill abolishes the following Obamacare taxes:

• Abolishes the Obamacare Individual Mandate Tax which hits 8 million Americans each year. Combined with the Employer Mandate Tax listed immediately below, this is a $137 billion tax cut.
• Abolishes the Obamacare Employer Mandate Tax. Combined with the Individual Mandate Tax listed immediately above, this is a $137 billion tax cut.
• Abolishes Obamacare’s Medicine Cabinet Tax which hits 20 million Americans with Health Savings Accounts and 30 million Americans with Flexible Spending Accounts. This is a $5.6 billion tax cut.
• Abolishes Obamacare’s Flexible Spending Account tax on 30 million Americans. This is a $18.6 billion tax cut.
• Abolishes Obamacare’s Chronic Care Tax on 10 million Americans with high out of pocket medical expenses. This is a $36 billion tax cut.
• Abolishes Obamacare’s HSA withdrawal tax. This is a $100 million tax cut.
• Abolishes Obamacare’s 10% excise tax on small businesses with indoor tanning services. This is a $600 million tax cut.
• Abolishes the Obamacare health insurance tax. This is a $144.7 billion tax cut.
• Abolishes the Obamacare 3.8% tax on investment income. This is a $172 billion tax cut.
• Abolishes the Obamacare medical device tax. This is a $19.6 billion tax cut.
• Abolishes the Obamacare tax on prescription medicine. This is a $25.7 billion tax cut.
• Abolishes the Obamacare 0.9 Medicare payroll tax increase. This is a $58.6 billion tax cut.
• Abolishes the Obamacare tax on retiree prescription drug coverage. This is a $1.8 billion tax cut.
• Abolishes the Obamacare remuneration tax increase on insurers. This is a $500 million tax cut.
• The bill also delays (until 2026) the “Cadillac” tax on employer-provided insurance. This saves taxpayers $66 billion over the next ten years.

President Obama had promised repeatedly that he would not raise any form of tax on any American earning less than $250,000 per year, but he broke the promise when he signed Obamacare. Now, passage of the Senate’s Better Care Reconciliation Act means tens of millions of middle income Americans will get tax relief from Obamacare's long list of tax hikes.

Here is a more detailed list of the Obamacare taxes abolished in the Senate Bill:

Individual Mandate Tax and Employer Mandate Tax: Under Obamacare, anyone not buying “qualifying” health insurance – as defined by the Obama-era Department of Health and Human Services -- must pay an income surtax to the IRS. In 2015, eight million households paid this tax. Most make less than $250,000. The Obama administration creepily used the Orwellian phrase “shared responsibility payment” to describe this tax. The Senate health bill repeals this tax and the employer mandate tax, saving Americans $137 billion over the next ten years.

For tax year 2016, the tax is a minimum of $695 for individuals, while families of four have to pay a minimum of $2,085.

Medicine Cabinet Tax on HSAs and FSAs: Under Obamacare, the 20.2 million Americans with a Health Savings Account and the 30 million covered by a Flexible Spending Account are no longer able to purchase over-the-counter medicines using these pre-tax account funds. Examples include cold, cough, and flu medicine, menstrual cramp relief medication, allergy medicines, and dozens of other common medicine cabinet health items. The Senate health bill will abolish this tax, saving Americans $5.6 billion over the next ten years.

Flexible Spending Account Tax: Under Obamacare, the 30 million Americans who use a pre-tax Flexible Spending Account (FSA) at work to pay for their family’s basic medical needs face an Obamacare-imposed cap of $2,500. The Senate health bill will abolish this tax, saving Americans $18.6 billion over the next ten years.

Before Obamacare, the accounts were unlimited under federal law, though employers were allowed to set a cap. Now, parents looking to sock away extra money to pay for braces find themselves quickly hitting this new cap, meaning they have to pony up some or all of the cost with after-tax dollars. Needless to say, this tax especially impacts middle class families.

There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap is particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. Families with special needs children often use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at special needs schools can run thousands of dollars per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education. This Obamacare tax increase limits the options available to these families.

Chronic Care Tax: Under Obamacare, this income tax increase directly targets middle class Americans with high medical bills. The tax hits 10 million households every year. Before Obamacare, Americans facing high medical expenses were allowed an income tax deduction to the extent that those expenses exceeded 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI). Obamacare now imposes a threshold of 10 percent of AGI. Therefore, Obamacare not only makes it more difficult to claim this deduction, it widens the net of taxable income.

According to the IRS, approximately 10 million families took advantage of this tax deduction each year before Obamacare. Almost all were middle class: The average taxpayer claiming this deduction earned just over $53,000 annually in 2010. ATR estimates that the average income tax increase for the average family claiming this tax benefit is about $200 - $400 per year.

The Senate health bill will abolish this tax, saving Americans $36 billion over the next ten years.

HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike: Under Obamacare, this provision increases the tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent. The Senate health bill will abolish this tax, saving Americans $100 million over the next ten years.

Ten Percent Excise Tax on Indoor Tanning: The Obamacare 10 percent tanning tax has wiped out an estimated 10,000 tanning salons, many owned by women. This Obamacare tax increase was the first to go into effect (July 2010). This petty, burdensome, nanny-state tax affects both the business owner and the end user. Industry estimates show that 30 million Americans visit an indoor tanning facility in a given year, and over 50 percent of salon owners are women. The Senate health bill will abolish this tax, saving Americans $600 million over the next ten years.

Health Insurance Tax: In addition to mandating the purchase of health insurance through the individual mandate tax, Obamacare directly increases the cost of insurance through the health insurance tax.

The total revenue this tax collects is set annually by Treasury and is then divided amongst insurers relative to the premiums they collect each year. While it is directly levied on the industry, the costs of the health insurance tax are inevitably passed on to small businesses that provide healthcare to their employees, middle class families through higher premiums, seniors who purchase Medicare advantage coverage, and the poor who rely on Medicaid managed care.

According to the American Action Forum, the Obamacare health insurance tax will increase premiums by up to $5,000 over a decade and will directly impact 1.7 million small businesses, 11 million households that purchase through the individual insurance market and 23 million households covered through their jobs. The tax is also economically destructive – the National Federation for Independent Businesses estimates the tax could cost up to 286,000 in new jobs and cost small businesses $33 billion in lost sales by 2023.

The Senate health bill will abolish this tax, saving Americans $144.7 billion over the next ten years.

Surtax on Investment Income: Obamacare created a new, 3.8 percent surtax on investment income earned in households making at least $250,000 ($200,000 for singles). This created a new top capital gains tax rate of 23.8%.

The capital gains tax hits income that has already been subjected to individual income taxes and is then reinvested in assets that spur new jobs, higher wages, and increased economic growth. Much of the “gains” associated with the capital gains tax is due to inflation and studies have shown that even supposedly modest increases in the capital gains tax have strong negative economic effects.

The Senate health bill will abolish this tax, saving Americans $172 billion over the next ten years.

Payroll Tax Hike: Obamacare imposes an additional 0.9 percent payroll tax on individuals making $200,000 or couples making more than $250,000. The Senate health bill will abolish this tax, saving Americans $58.6 billion over the next ten years.

Tax on Medical Device Manufacturers: Under Obamacare, this law imposes a new 2.3% excise tax on all sales of medical devices. The tax applies even if the company has no profits in a given year. The Senate health bill will abolish this tax, saving Americans $19.6 billion over the next ten years.

Tax on Prescription Medicine: Obamacare imposed a tax on the producers of prescription medicine based on relative share of sales. The Senate health bill will abolish this tax, saving Americans $25.7 billion over the next ten years.

Elimination of Deduction for Retiree Prescription Drug Coverage: The Senate health bill will abolish this tax, saving Americans $1.8 billion over the next ten years.

“Obamacare promised to reduce individual insurance premiums – a lot. Premiums rose – a lot,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. Obama promised no tax hikes on anyone earning less than $250,000 – that was a lie. Taxes increased. Healthcare costs increased. Obamacare failed. By its own promised goals, it failed. It is time to repeal failure and reform healthcare to protect consumers, not bureaucracy.”

Photo credit: kidTruant

The Senate Better Care Reconciliation Act provides middle class tax relief for the 30 – 35 million Americans with a Flexible Spending Account and the 20 million Americans with a Health Savings Account.

The Obamacare Medicine Cabinet Tax violated Obama’s middle class tax pledge. Obamacare imposed a $1 trillion tax hike on the American people, and violated President Obama’s own “firm pledge” not to raise any form of tax on any middle class American. One of the most widespread Obamacare taxes is the Medicine Cabinet Tax.

The Obamacare Medicine Cabinet Tax hits tens of millions of Americans. The Obamacare Medicine Cabinet Tax hits the 20 million Americans with a Health Savings Account and the 30 – 35 million Americans with a Flexible Spending Account.

Under Obamacare’s Medicine Cabinet Tax, Americans are forbidden from using HSA and FSA funds to buy over the counter medicines. Examples include:

• cold, cough, and flu medicines
• children’s fever relievers
• chest rubs
• aspirin and baby aspirin
• allergy medicines
• menstrual cramp relief medication
• feminine personal care treatments
• hundreds of other common medicine cabinet necessities
   

The Obamacare Medicine Cabinet Tax is a $5.6 Billion Tax Hike. By forcing Americans with FSAs and HSAs to use post-tax dollars to purchase these necessary items, Obamacare raised taxes on these households by $5.6 billion over a ten year period.

The Repeal Bill Abolishes the Obamacare Medicine Cabinet Tax, providing significant tax relief for middle class households. The repeal bill gives HSA and FSA holders the freedom to use pre-tax dollars to purchase over the counter medicines for their household -- cold, cough, and flu medicines, children’s fever relievers, chest rubs, aspirin and baby aspirin, allergy medicines, menstrual cramp relief medication, feminine personal care treatments, hemorrhoid cream, and hundreds of other common medicine cabinet necessities.

The Senate health bill doubles the dollar amount families can put into HSAs. Families with high medical expenses will be able to purchase more of their essential health items using pre-tax funds. This change makes HSAs even more useful to household budgets.

“The Obamacare Medicine Cabinet Tax raised the cost of health care and made middle income Americans worse off,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “The bill repeals Obamacare’s Medicine Cabinet Tax once and for all.”

Photo credit: Karsun Designs

Americans for Tax Reform’s Katie McAuliffe, the executive director of Digital Liberty and federal affairs manager, wrote an op-ed for the Hill on the false promise of 'municipal broadband' networks. McAuliffe found that while Americans may want faster internet, municipal broadband networks tend to be failures:

“The problem is – building and operating broadband networks is expensive and complex. They need to be rebuilt and updated almost continually to stay ahead of the breakneck pace of innovation in this space and the constantly spiraling demand for higher and higher speeds online.”

According to McAuliffe, most attempts to create municipal broadband networks results in horror stories, like “the failed iProvo network that cost the city $39 million to build but was ultimately sold to Google for $1 dollar are legion. Indeed, according to new data, over half of these municipal fiber systems fail to bring in enough revenue to cover their ongoing operating costs, bleeding red ink every day they operate and falling further and further into debt.”

These municipalities struggle to keep up with large private companies that can easily invest millions in maintaining the infrastructure for the broadband. Of the 20 municipalities that have tried to implement broadband networks, “only two bring in enough revenue to recover construction costs before the networks become obsolete in 40 years. The rest won’t be paid off for decades after they become useless – or even centuries!”

These risky investments seem troubling at a time when most governments are scrambling to fund more necessary projects, like education and transportation. 

Read more here