Taxing Healthcare Benefits - It's coming

It's exhausting to continue the fight against the government takeover of healthcare. No matter what speech, sound bites or quote you hear, the one thing that is clear: the government, White House and Congress, intend on pushing a socialized universal health insurance program into our lives.

The current bill confirmed many of the rumors about taxation and penalties (I covered them here: http://brandon7221.blogspot.com/2009/10/cram-ram-healthcare.html )

No the evolution of the healthcare reform digs deeper and sharper.

Under the original proposal, a 35% excise tax would be imposed on employer-provided coverage in which premiums exceed $8,000 a year for individual coverage and $21,000 for family coverage. This would include premiums for medical, dental and vision care; employer contributions to health reimbursement arrangements and health savings accounts; and employee contributions.

Tax us for having good insurance.

Oh wait, it gets worse!

Under the revised Baucus package, the excise tax is modified in several ways. First, the tax would be increased to 40%. In addition, the $8,000 and $21,000 thresholds would be increased by $750 for individual coverage and $2,000 for family coverage for retirees covered in employer plans who are age 55 and older.

NOW they will tax the employer NOT you or me!

How long will we have employer health insurance?

Well there's this amendment, proposed by Sen. John Kerry, requiring employers with 26 or more employees to offer health care coverage, pay at least 60% of the premiums for individual and family coverage, and abide by certain other requirements. Those that fail to do so would be assessed an annual fine of $750 for each full-time employee not covered and $375 for each part-time employee not covered.

Is your head spinning yet? It should be.

I'm sick of hearing and writing about healthcare, but we are under siege. We are being forced onto a government plan, going to lose our benefits at work, or worse, much much worse, watch small businesses go bankrupt trying to keep pace.