In an interview with MSNBC on Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “We have to replace” the repealed Obamacare individual mandate tax penalty. The individual mandate was one of the most regressive taxes in the code before it was repealed in 2017 by the Republican passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Reinstating this tax will undoubtedly disproportionately fall on low and middle-income families.
Prior to repeal, the mandate forced individuals to purchase government approved health insurance or pay a tax totaling almost $700 for an individual and $2,000 for a family.
Official IRS data found that low-income Americans shouldered the burden of this tax.
In tax year 2016, 4,953,490 households paid a total of $3,628,017,000 in individual mandate tax penalties.
- 77 percent of those paying the mandate had annual income of less than $50,000.
- 34 percent of those paying the mandate had annual income of less than $25,000.
In tax year 2015, 6,665,480 households paid a total of $3,079,255,000 in individual mandate tax penalties.
- 79 percent of those paying the mandate had annual income of less than $50,000.
- 37 percent of those paying the mandate had annual income of less than $25,000.
So what tax increase does Pelosi have in mind?