Only in Washington can removing a tax penalty be considered a tax increase.
The proposed tax overhaul that is quickly making its way through Congress would eliminate Obamacare’s individual mandate. That mandate—ruled a “tax” by the Supreme Court—charges taxpayers anywhere from $695 to upward of $10,000 (based on their income) if they do not purchase the type of health insurance that the federal government requires them to.
According to the most recent IRS report, for the 2015 tax year, 6.2 million taxpayers paid the penalty and 82 percent of those taxpayers made less than $50,000 per year. Another 12.7 million taxpayers qualified for an exemption, and 4.3 million more failed to report their health insurance status on their tax forms.
Without eliminating the individual mandate penalty, any of those 4.3 million taxpayers that didn’t report their health insurance coverage status and are not enrolled in an approved health plan will also have to pay the penalty next year when greater enforcement measures are scheduled to kick in.
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!