House to target wealthy to pay for healthcare

House to target wealthy to pay for healthcare
By Jeffrey Young
Posted: 07/10/09 04:26 PM


The House will propose raising taxes on people earning more than $350,000 a year to pay $540 billion for healthcare reform, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) said Friday.

House Democrats had been weighing a plethora of other tax increases, such as levies on sugary soft drinks and alcohol, that raised hackles within their caucus.

Instead, Rangel said Democrats will seek to enact one large tax increase targeting wealthier workers to generate the revenue they need to finance their $1 trillion-plus healthcare reform bill.

“We have decided that instead of putting pieces of different revenue raisers together, that the best that we can do {is} we would have graduated surtaxes starting at {$}350},000},” Rangel said. The tax hikes would begin in 2011 and raise $540 billion over 10 years, he said after a meeting with Democratic committee members.

The price tag of the bill is expected to be around $1 trillion. Democrats have already tentatively assembled a package of spending cuts worth around $500 billion, mostly from Medicare and Medicaid.

The combination of the tax increase and the spending cuts would provide House Democrats with most, if not all, of the money they need to meet their pledge that healthcare reform would not add to the budget deficit over the next decade.

more...

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/house-eyes-540-billion-high-income-tax-for-healthcare-2009-07-10.html

NT

The wealthy would pay a smaller tax increase under a single payer system.

everyone. We should be civil enough to not let anyone despair about the affordability of their health.

In all fairness, I, as well as most Americans don't make a lot of money but have endured lots of tax increases over the years. I remember when they decided to increase the SS tax to cover the costs of the babyboomers retirement. That his hard because back then I was really not making very much at all, but we all dealt with it. Of course AH Shrub gave it all back to his rich friends in the early 2000's and SS is in trouble AGAIN!

However, I'd still like to know just how big is big. If they're talking about someone making $350,000 and having to pay an additional $200/yr and increasing as the earnings went up, that's no big deal. If it's a lot more than that, I'd have to think about it.

Believe me, I'm NOT in that tax bracket! We're retired and live on SS and have a little savings that we're trying not to have to use, but I don't want the Dems to have the reputation of ALWAYS getting "the rich" to pay for everything unfairly either.

House to target wealthy to pay for healthcare
By Jeffrey Young
Posted: 07/10/09 04:26 PM


The House will propose raising taxes on people earning more than $350,000 a year to pay $540 billion for healthcare reform, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) said Friday.

House Democrats had been weighing a plethora of other tax increases, such as levies on sugary soft drinks and alcohol, that raised hackles within their caucus.

Instead, Rangel said Democrats will seek to enact one large tax increase targeting wealthier workers to generate the revenue they need to finance their $1 trillion-plus healthcare reform bill.

“We have decided that instead of putting pieces of different revenue raisers together, that the best that we can do {is} we would have graduated surtaxes starting at {$}350},000},” Rangel said. The tax hikes would begin in 2011 and raise $540 billion over 10 years, he said after a meeting with Democratic committee members.

The price tag of the bill is expected to be around $1 trillion. Democrats have already tentatively assembled a package of spending cuts worth around $500 billion, mostly from Medicare and Medicaid.

The combination of the tax increase and the spending cuts would provide House Democrats with most, if not all, of the money they need to meet their pledge that healthcare reform would not add to the budget deficit over the next decade.

"I think we're going to need another Timmy!"

Then a lot of pressure would have to be put on the Senate.