IRS and Obamacare

[BDKJMU]

"Obamacare: Taxpayers Must Report Personal Health ID Info to IRS
When Obamacare’s individual mandate takes effect in 2014, all Americans who file income tax returns must complete an additional IRS tax form.

The new form will require disclosure of a taxpayer’s personal identifying health information in order to determine compliance with the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate.

As confirmed by IRS testimony to the tax-writing House Committee on Ways and Means, “taxpayers will file their tax returns reporting their health insurance coverage, and/or making a payment”.

So why will the Obama IRS require your personal identifying health information?

Simply put, there is no way for the IRS to enforce Obamacare’s individual mandate without such an invasive reporting scheme. Every January, health insurance companies across America will send out tax documents to each insured individual. This tax document—a copy of which will be furnished to the IRS—must contain sufficient information for taxpayers to prove that they purchased qualifying health insurance under Obamacare.

This new tax information document must, at a minimum, contain: the name and health insurance identification number of the taxpayer; the name and tax identification number of the health insurance company; the number of months the taxpayer was covered by this insurance plan; and whether or not the plan was purchased in one of Obamacare’s “exchanges.”

This will involve millions of new tax documents landing in mailboxes across America every January, along with the usual raft of W-2s, 1099s, and 1098s. At tax time, the 140 million families who file a tax return will have to get acquainted with a brand new tax filing form. Six million of these families will end up paying Obamacare’s individual mandate non-compliance tax penalty............."
http://www.atr.org/obamacare-taxpayers- ... alth-a7611" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BDKJMU]

Now if a rogue, corrupt, big govt agency such as the IRS getting involved in your health care isn't scary enough, it gets worse:

"....Internal Revenue Service official in charge of the tax-exempt organizations at the time when the unit targeted tea party groups now runs the IRS office responsible for the health care legislation......"
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/20 ... re-office/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BDKJMU]

"......Last June, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report estimated that the IRS would spend $881 million of taxpayers’ money to implement the first four years of Obamacare, including about $500 million that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) diverted to the agency.

The Administration has requested $440 million as part of its 2014 budget proposal to help the IRS prepare for implementing the health care law. And the IRS has estimated that it would need to assign a total of 2,195 employees to deal with health care reform by the end of this year.

Some Republicans believe that the IRS and administration are intentionally low-balling the actual cost and manpower needs. In March, Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., the chairman of the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, called on the acting IRS commissioner Steven T. Miller to provide a detailed accounting on the costs of administering Obamacare.

Now with House Republican leaders furious about how the IRS treated conservative groups—despite their past denials— several analysts say it is possible the controversy could be used as another excuse to cut agency funding and manpower to further thwart implementing Obamacare.

“When people look at funding the IRS they’re going to take into account everything that’s out there,” said Floyd Williams, a former legislative affairs director for the IRS who is now with a private Washington public policy strategies firm. “It’s no secret some in Congress have been trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, let alone limit IRS funding for enforcement . . . . [The] IRS has already suffered the past three years with a status quo budget, which basically is a reduction, especially if you look at people who retired and haven’t been able to be replaced. Now, you have sequestration coming up. All of that added together spells trouble for the IRS and tax law enforcement.”..................."
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/ ... lQk6gip.99" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BDKJMU]

Well, if Congress doesn't approve the massive funding increase for the IRS, and I can't see Republicans doing that, it will be extremely difficult if not impossible for them to enforce the provisions of Obamacare. And even before the current scandal they already showed a willingness to do that back in March:

"The US House of Representatives approved a continuing resolution (CR) yesterday that would deny necessary funding for several agencies to implement their respective portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The bill, H.R. 933, was introduced on Monday by Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY). Several specific funding denials include:

$949 million to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to aid in paying for the federal insurance exchanges.
$29 million to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control.
Funds requested by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for ACA tax provisions.

267 Members voted in favor of the bill."
http://www.healthreformgps.org/resource ... a-funding/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BDKJMU]

But even if the IRS gets the additonal funding to enforce Obamacare, or can somehow enforce it without the additional funding, there is a loophole big enough to drive a truck through as far as enforcement:

Obamacare: Tax Or Penalty? Call It What You Want, But IRS Won't Be Able To Collect It

"......Finally, there is the issue of whether the IRS can collect the tax if someone refuses to either buy insurance or pay the fine. The ACA says the IRS should enforce the law by imposing a tax penalty—but then effectively blocks the agency from using most of the tools it normally uses to go after tax scofflaws.

The ACA bars the IRS from bringing a criminal enforcement case against someone who refuses to pay the non-insurance penalty. And it makes it very difficult, if not impossible, for it to enforce a tax lien. Law professors Jordan Barry and Bryan Camp have a nice piece in Tax Notes explaining it all.

That leaves only one tool—the IRS can subtract the penalty from any refund it owes a taxpayer. But that applies only if the IRS happens to owe somebody a refund. These days, two-thirds of taxpayers get one, but it is usually their choice.

Only low-income households who receive refundable credits, such as the Earned Income Credit, always get refunds. But the ACA specifically exempts most of them from the tax because their income is so low.

Bottom line: Notwithstanding the nutty Internet rumors that the IRS is hiring 20,000 revenue agents to collect the tax, most people who really want to game the system will probably get away with it......."
http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/201 ... o-collect/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[houndawg]

But even if the IRS gets the additonal funding to enforce Obamacare, or can somehow enforce it without the additional funding, there is a loophole big enough to drive a truck through as far as enforcement:

Obamacare: Tax Or Penalty? Call It What You Want, But IRS Won't Be Able To Collect It

"......Finally, there is the issue of whether the IRS can collect the tax if someone refuses to either buy insurance or pay the fine. The ACA says the IRS should enforce the law by imposing a tax penalty—but then effectively blocks the agency from using most of the tools it normally uses to go after tax scofflaws.

The ACA bars the IRS from bringing a criminal enforcement case against someone who refuses to pay the non-insurance penalty. And it makes it very difficult, if not impossible, for it to enforce a tax lien. Law professors Jordan Barry and Bryan Camp have a nice piece in Tax Notes explaining it all.

That leaves only one tool—the IRS can subtract the penalty from any refund it owes a taxpayer. But that applies only if the IRS happens to owe somebody a refund. These days, two-thirds of taxpayers get one, but it is usually their choice.

Only low-income households who receive refundable credits, such as the Earned Income Credit, always get refunds. But the ACA specifically exempts most of them from the tax because their income is so low.

Bottom line: Notwithstanding the nutty Internet rumors that the IRS is hiring 20,000 revenue agents to collect the tax, most people who really want to game the system will probably get away with it......."
http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/201 ... o-collect/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bottom line: its business as usual.


You had to bloviate for multiple posts, to yourself, just to tell us that?


BDKJRKFF / JSO - separated at birth...

[bluehenbillk]

Is this thread serious?

Cmon BDKJMU maybe you need a refresher course.

The IRS has already for decades had this information on health care coverage, why do you think the $ that is taken out of your paycheck for your medical benefits isn't taxable?

You're seriously questioning if the IRS can collect $$ from people? I've managed employees since 1996 & have seen multiple people that had their wages garnished, it's actually quite easy.

Move on, lock this thread down.

[Baldy]

The IRS has already for decades had this information on health care coverage, why do you think the $ that is taken out of your paycheck for your medical benefits isn't taxable?

If they already have all this information, then why are they requiring all these extra forms?

[houndawg]

The IRS has already for decades had this information on health care coverage, why do you think the $ that is taken out of your paycheck for your medical benefits isn't taxable?

If they already have all this information, then why are they requiring all these extra forms?

They're a bureaucracy, paper is what they do.

[BDKJMU]

The IRS has already for decades had this information on health care coverage

Wrong. They haven't had close to the info they're seeking now. Hence the new forms.

[BDKJMU]

Is this thread serious?

You're seriously questioning if the IRS can collect $$ from people? I've managed employees since 1996 & have seen multiple people that had their wages garnished, it's actually quite easy.

Wrong again, as laid out in the Forbes article above, or more in depth in the linked article 10 page by the 2 law professors. Their conclusion at the end:

"Conclusion
While the collection process for the tax penalty has many similarities to the collection process for existing federal tax liabilities, there are also significant differences. The restrictions placed on the IRS’s ability to collect the tax penalty make it unlikely the IRS can effectively enforce the individual mandate.
The only major collection tool that remains unaffected is the offset, which, by its nature, applies only
if the taxpayer happens to overpay her federal income tax obligations or is entitled to a net refund in a given year. Thus, many taxpayers who neglect or refuse to pay the tax penalty could structure their affairs in such a way as to avoid being subject to legal consequences of any sort for years to come, if
ever. For those taxpayers, the individual mandate may not actually be mandatory after all.
http://taxprof.typepad.com/files/135tn1633-1.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And the above is in addition to the fact that the Republicans in the House aren't going going to provide the significant increase in funding the IRS will need...