U.S. House May Include Surtax on Wealthy in Health-Care Package

[bijou]

By Ryan J. Donmoyer

July 7 (Bloomberg) -- House Ways and Means Committee members are likely to propose a surtax on high-income Americans to help pay for an overhaul of the health-care system, according to people familiar with the plan.

The tax would be similar to, yet much smaller than, a surtax proposed in 2007 by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, a person familiar with the committee’s talks said. That plan would have added at least a 4 percent levy on incomes exceeding $200,000, and was projected to reap as much as $832 billion over 10 years.

Two people familiar with closed-door talks by committee Democrats said a House bill probably will include a surtax on incomes exceeding $250,000, as Congress seeks ways to pay for changes to a health-care system that accounts for almost 18 percent of the U.S. economy. By targeting wealthier Americans, a surtax may hold more appeal for House Democrats than a Senate proposal to tax some employer-provided health benefits. ...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a3wUXb42NPX0

[thundley4]

Who are they kidding? That $200K minimum will be lowered before all is said and done.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Who are they kidding? That $200K minimum will be lowered before all is said and done.

Or more likely, runaway inflation from Porkulus 1 (And now perhaps 2) will push a LOT more people into the surtaxed bracket.  When they set threshholds like this in tax law, they are almost never indexed for changing circumstances, they just use absolute numbers.

[NHSparky]

Kinda like the AMT, Tanker?

[DumbAss Tanker]

Kinda like the AMT, Tanker?

Exactly like that, my friend, though there are numerous other examples.