IRS estimates houshold cost of Obamacare

[CitadelGrad]

The IRS estimates that the average cost of Obamacare for an average American family will be $20,000 per annually.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/irs-che ... 000-family

[danefan]

OK a couple points:

1. The thread title is incredibly misleading. The IRS did not estimate the impact of Obamacare on the American family income. The simply put a placeholder example number in the regs.

2. The IRS included an example in the regulations related to how to calculate the tax/penalty under the ACA. IRS examples aren't completely routed in fact, but are instead made with nice round numbers that provide a good calculation example. The factual scenarios are generally accurate, but the numbers are made easy to work with.

Why would we look to the IRS to do anything but enforce a tax. The cost of the healthcare policy under Obamacare has nothing to do with the IRS.

[CitadelGrad]

The IRS frequently makes forecasts. It's kind of necessary when they are making estimates of government revenue that they communicate to Congress and the White House Budget Office. The numbers that they use in this instance aren't out of line with other forecasts, especially those produced by the CBO.

[danefan]

The IRS frequently makes forecasts. It's kind of necessary when they are making estimates of government revenue that they communicate to Congress and the White House Budget Office. The numbers that they use in this instance aren't out of line with other forecasts, especially those produced by the CBO.

The IRS makes forecasts of tax revenue that they are responsible to collect.

The $20,000 in the regulation example is nothing more than a nice round number used as an example cost of one policy a family might purchase in the exchanges. That has nothing to do with the tax owed under the ACA except the cost of the bronze package is the ceiling of the tax. Again, it's an example with nice rounde numbers. Not an estimate of cost to American households.

[SuperHornet]

How would Obamacare NOT have anything to do with the IRS, dane? The entire freaking justification in court is that Obamacare is a TAX. The IRS is the only federal tax collection agency that I know of. Therefore, the IRS will collect the Obamacare TAX. As if they didn't have other things to do, like collect our OTHER taxes, which are ALREADY way too high....

[danefan]

How would Obamacare NOT have anything to do with the IRS, dane? The entire freaking justification in court is that Obamacare is a TAX. The IRS is the only federal tax collection agency that I know of. Therefore, the IRS will collect the Obamacare TAX. As if they didn't have other things to do, like collect our OTHER taxes, which are ALREADY way too high....

You don't read do you?

[SDHornet]

How would Obamacare NOT have anything to do with the IRS, dane? The entire freaking justification in court is that Obamacare is a TAX. The IRS is the only federal tax collection agency that I know of. Therefore, the IRS will collect the Obamacare TAX. As if they didn't have other things to do, like collect our OTHER taxes, which are ALREADY way too high....

You don't read do you?

You honestly had to ask this question?