Saturday, May 25, 2013

IRS Deficiencies and Health Care

David Ricardo observed that taxation "frequently operates very differently from the intention of the legislature by its indirect effects." As reflected in the news headlines, Americans are now bearing the brunt of the indirect effects of misguided IRS personnel participating in an ill-advised health-care scheme.
At the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on 17 May 2013, deposed Acting Internal Revenue Commissioner Steve Miller was grilled by committee members regarding the IRS's use of political orientation in processing group applications for tax-exempt status, as detailed in a Treasury Inspector General's Report. In questioning Mr. Miller, Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) elicited testimony to the effect that under the Affordable Care Act, the IRS does not access individuals' personal healthcare information, but only notes the fact of insurance coverage or noncoverage during any given time period. "[W]ere you covered and over what period is what we would be getting" is what Miller told the congressman. McDermott then declared that there is "not a fascist takeover of the healthcare system."

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