palin-mccain health insurance tax

[radfringe]

went to the local county fair yesterday afternoon. the friends we were with ran into some other friends, one of which sported a palin-mccain t-shirt..

jokingly my partner quipped that she would have to hold me back... Mr. t-shirt asked why, and was told because I don't like mccain

mr t-shirt said - but mccain will lower taxes, I want more of my money in my pocket

:eyes:

I asked him if he had health insurance through his employer and did his employer pay for part of it?

"yes, 80% of it" Mr. t-shirt said

me - "under the mccain plan, that 80% is taxble, YOU are going to be taxed on employer contributions to health insurance"

giving mr t-shirt a nod for being a bit more informed - mr t-shirt said that mccain's plan was to give a tax credit (at least he was aware of that)

me - "yes, on the back end, however your employer contributions throughout the year will be included as part of your gross pay and taxed accordingly - meaning LESS TAKE HOME PAY. At the end of the year, when you file your income tax return you will get a tax credit, that may or may not result in about $50 more in a refund for the first year. Thereafter, as insurance premiums go up, the tax credit doesn't keep up, so in a couple of years YOU will be paying MORE in taxes. don't know about you - but I call that a TAX HIKE"

I also told him to google mccain health insurance tax hike and read about it.... don't know if mr t-shirt changed his mind, but it gave him something to think about

Here's a simple article that sums up mccain' health insurance tax:

McCain Health Credit Could Morph Into Tax Hike
July 02, 2008 7:20 PM
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/07/mccain-health-c.html

ABC News' Teddy Davis and James Gerber Report: Sen. John McCain's, R-Ariz., health-care plan would replace the existing tax exclusion for employer-sponsored coverage with a refundable tax credit for all Americans. The tax change is intended to create a more equitable system that provides everyone -- including those who do not receive their health coverage from their employer -- with the same tax advantage. And since it is refundable, it would provide a cash benefit to those who earn too little to pay federal income taxes.

But if the cost of health care continues to outpace inflation in the economy at large, McCain's health credit would morph into a tax hike for those who currently receive a tax exclusion for employer-sponsored coverage, according to a study released Wednesday by the liberal Center for American Progress.

--snip--

McCain's tax credit could morph into a tax hike because the credit grows only at the rate of inflation (about 2 percent a year), while current tax subsidies keep up with health insurance premiums (which are growing at about 7 percent per year).

For a couple earning $40,000 per year and paying an average premium of $13,800, McCain's new tax credit would cut their taxes by $50 in 2009.

"Because the credit quickly falls behind rising premiums that are the basis for the current tax break, the family would pay $1,169 more in taxes in 2013. The family would pay $2,809 more in taxes by 2018," write James Kvaal, Peter Harbage, and Ben Furnas, the report's authors.

[Wetzelbill]

1. well yes and not to mention

If you make under 250 grand a year you'll pay less taxes under O's plan than McCain's anyway.

[radfringe]

3. most people I know earn way less than $250k

while the notion of wealthy-fare may irk them, they are more concerned with their own wallets

pointing out the palin-mccain health insurance tax means less money in every paycheck has more of an impact. that hits home harder than a $50 "credit" at the end of the year - which for most of us might amount to a tank of gas for 1 week.

I've taken to carrying the article around with me for reference.

I also point out that palin-mccain "hopes" this will drive down insurance premiums but doesn't say how it will, and what will happen when premiums continue to rise as palin-mccain have no plan for that. In otherwords, under palin-mccain you "hope" in one hand and shit in the other - see which fills up faster

[annabanana]

2. This needs to be highlighted EVERY time the subject of taxes comes up.

BOOKMARKED!

[AzDar]

4. Kick

[radfringe]

5. kick