Bogus " health care law increasing income taxes" email

[hay rick]

I encountered printed out versions of this fraudulent email twice in the last week. The email:

Subject: Fwd: Fw: Now your insurance is INCOME on your W2's - please read

One of the surprises we'll find come next year, is what follows - - a little "surprise" that 99% of us had no idea was included in the "new and improved" healthcare legislation . . . the dupes, er, dopes, who backed this administration will be astonished!

Starting in 2011, (next year folks), your W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are given by the company. It does not matter if that's a private concern or governmental body of some sort. If you're retired? So what; your gross will go up by the amount of insurance you get.

You will be required to pay taxes on a large sum of money that you have never seen. Take your tax form you just finished and see what $15,000 or $20,000 additional gross does to your tax debt. That's what you'll pay next year. For many, it also puts you into a new higher bracket so it's even worse.

This is how the government is going to buy insurance for the 15% that don't have insurance and it's only part of the tax increases.

Not believing this??? Here is a research of the summaries.....

On page 25 of 29: TITLE IX REVENUE PROVISIONS- SUBTITLE A: REVENUE
OFFSET PROVISIONS-(sec. 9001, as modified by sec. 10901)
Sec.9002 "requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each
employee the aggregate cost of applicable employer sponsored group
health coverage that is excludable from the employees gross income."

Joan Pryde is the senior tax editor for the Kiplinger letters. Go to Kiplingers and read about 13 tax changes that could affect you. Number 3 is what is above.

Why am I sending you this? The same reason I hope you forward this to every single person in your address book. People have the right to know the truth because an election is coming in November.

Links to sites debunking this email:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/hr3590.asp
http://www.factcheck.org/2010/05/health-care-law-and-w-2-forms/
http://mediamattersaction.org/emailchecker/201007150014
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/jun/10/chain-email/w-2-tax-forms-hr-3590-health-insurance-pay-taxes

From Fact Check's article:

It’s true that the value of employer-paid health insurance will be added as an information item on W-2 forms. But contrary to this widely circulating chain e-mail, it definitely will not be considered taxable income...

The e-mail’s author correctly quotes a Congressional Research Service summary of the bill that became law (H.R. 3590), noting that Section 9002 "Requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each employee the aggregate cost of applicable employer-sponsored group health coverage." But the author then goes on to conclude — quite incorrectly — that this amount will be "added to your gross pay" and that "ou will be taxed on the total." The CRS did not say that, and neither does the legislation itself. In fact, the value will continue to be untaxed, just as in the past.

The e-mail’s author also claims that an article written by Joan Pryde, a senior editor of the Kiplinger letters, backs up the claim: "Go to Kiplingers and read about 13 tax changes that could affect you. Number 3 is what I just told you about." But the truth is that the Kiplinger letters actually contradicts the claim.

Pryde’s article is dated April 5 and is headlined "Health Care Reform: Tax Hikes on the Way — Here are 13 changes in the massive overhaul that could impact your tax bill, for better or worse." Among them:

3. A requirement that businesses include the value of the health care benefits they provide to employees on W-2s, beginning with W-2s for 2011. The amount reported is not considered taxable income.

The author of this false e-mail seems to have missed the second sentence in that paragraph — the part that says the amount "is not considered taxable income."