White House open to new tax on health benefits
WASHINGTON
MyWay
The Obama White House left open the possibility Sunday that the president would break a campaign promise and raise taxes on people earning less than $250,000 to support his health care overhaul agenda.
White House adviser David Axelrod said the administration wouldn’t rule out taxing some employees’ benefits to fund a health care agenda that has yet to take final form. The move would be a compromise with fellow Democrats, who are pushing the proposal as a way to pay for the massive undertaking without ballooning the federal deficit.
“There are a number of formulations and we’ll wait and see. The important thing at this point is to keep the process moving, to keep people at the table, to the keep the discussions going,” Axelrod said. “We’ve gotten a long way down the road and we want to finish that journey.”
But if President Barack Obama compromises on that point, it would reverse a campaign tax promise.
“I pledge that under my plan, no one making less than $250,000 a year will see any type of tax increase,” Obama told a crowd in Dover, N.H., last year. “Not income tax, not capital gains taxes, not any kind of tax.”
At the time, his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was proposing a tax on health benefits similar to the plan Obama is now considering. Just a year ago, Obama spent millions on campaign commercials attacking the idea.
One ad accused McCain of favoring “taxing health benefits for the first time ever … taxing health care instead of fixing it. We can’t afford John McCain.”
A second Obama ad called McCain’s approach “the largest middle-class tax increase in history.” Driving the point home, it contended the “McCain tax could cost your family thousands. Can you afford it?”
Under the current proposals, a tax on health benefits would affect only those with pricey health plans. The idea would be to tax as income the portion of health benefits worth more than a specified limit. Officials are considering several options, including one that would set the limit at $17,240 for family coverage and $6,800 for individuals.
Plans worth more than that would be taxed; those worth less would see no increase.
Obama has faced similar criticism before. When he increased taxes on tobacco to pay for a children’s health bill, his critics said he was raising taxes on those making less than $250,000 a year.
Obama left open the possibility of a tax during interviews last week, insisting he wasn’t taking any option off the table despite his personal opposition. But two of his high-profile advisers – budget chief Peter Orszag and economic adviser Jason Furman – both have indicated they support some taxes on health benefits to pay for the overhaul.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said that Obama should step in an oppose the tax if he’s truly against it. Otherwise, he faces a loss to his own Democratic Party and his own campaign credibility.
“I think it’s going to take presidential leadership to get people of his party to see that we shouldn’t be subsidizing high-end health insurance policies that drive up inflation in health insurance,” said Grassley, the top Republican on the powerful finance committee.
Grassley – and, to be sure, other Republicans – remember Obama’s scathing criticism of their GOP presidential nominee.
“Since the president denigrated John McCain’s effort to move in this direction during the campaign, it’s going to take, in order to win over Republicans, presidential leadership in that direction,” Grassley said.
To help sell his plan, Obama scheduled a town hall-style meeting this week in Annandale, Va., a Washington suburb. He plans to take questions Wednesday from the audience and from online sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Wild Thing’s comment………
Another townhall UNTownhall meeting????? Can’t this freak Obama ever stay off camera?
And again will the Union people and the elected government officials/workers be exempt again on this one?
….Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
The head of the Committee that is backing this is one Max Baucus of Montana. He was one of my senators for quite awhile. Max went into politics becuase he didn’t know what he was going to do with his life. He said this at an assembly at Havre High School in the mid nineties. My youngest daughter was there.
Max is heir to the Sieben Ranch, north of Helena. It is a large operation and it has it’s own exit on Interstate 15. I guess being a working cowboy wasn’t good enough for him.
He is also owned by the railroad and teacher’s unions. Those are the largest unions in the state. And Havre is a major point on the BNSF Railway. It exists because of the railroad beginning with the Great Northern to the BNSF of the present. When I graduated from Havre High in 1972, I didn’t have any relatives working for the then Burlington Northern, so I wasn’t going to get on. That is how it was. But in retrospect, I am glad I spent twenty years in the Sea Service. I am a far better man for it.
As Gomer Pyle would have said, “Surprise, surpise, surprise!” Like we didn’t know this was going to happen. We tried to warn them, but they poo-pooed us, saying he would NEVER, EVER do this in a million years. Well, guess what? He is and he will. Cap and Trade is just a fancy name for taxing everything we own and everything we do! What’s funny is, after it’s too late, they’ll be crying “Why didn’t you warn us?” and we’ll say, “We did. You didn’t want to hear it.”
I really hope progress is made with today’s town hall. I will be all ears. If you’re going to be at work during the town hall, the app I always use on my iPhone for White House updates will be streaming it, so you can listen to it conveniently here: http://www.iheartradio.com/whblive. Hoping for the best today.
obama’s plan is to tax everything. Lower income and non working people may think they don’t pay taxes but they will through coming inflation. As obama’s presidency continues we will find him violating most of the promises he made.
Glenn sounds like Ole Max still hasn’t made up his mind about his future.
Whether he raises taxes to raise them or the Cap and tax passes, Health Care will be just another burden for the already over burden Tax payers to contend with.
State taxes are going up on income and maybe even a value added Tax. There will come a point when we are working solely for the Government. That time is near.
WT, he proboably would have scored higher on that Machiavelli test than I did, I mean after all The American People have elected “The Prince” into the office of President.
Glenn Cassel AMH1(AW) USN RET, thank you
so much for the information about Baucus,
very interesting.
I am glad were in the Navy. (big smile)
Lynn, LOL good one by Gomer Pyle!!
Your so right, we did try to warn them
and they would not listen.
Brynn, thank you. I don’t have an iPhone
and I see tonight that he did the same ole
same ole with his ego town meeting.
He can’t be good at anything, he is a loose
cannon that needs to be reigned in from the
horrible control he has and destruction
he is doing.
Thank you so much Brynn that was very kind
of you to offer. I appreciate it.
Tom, I agree, he would tax the air, the
wind that blows if he could and he just
might for the heck of it.
Mark,yes it gets closer everyday.
He wants all citizens to be working
for the government. I guess then
he will move on to the next country
and soon he will rule the world
like he thinks he does already.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
JohnE PFC U.S. Army, you are a gazillion
times smarter then Obama.
I even wonder if his being stupid is one
of the reasons he has his school information
under lock and key and no one can see it.