Senate Health Care Bill to Raise Taxes

Meredith Jessup | November 19, 2009 3:37 PM

From economist Keith Hennessey comes a list of taxes included in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's Senate health care overhaul:

40% excise tax on health coverage in excess of $8,500 (individuals) / $23,000 (families). Amounts are indexed for inflation by CPI-U 1% – begins in 2013 – $149 B tax increase
Additional 0.5% Medicare (Hospital Insurance) tax on wages in excess of $200,000 ($250,000 for joint filers) – begins in 2013 – $54 B tax increase
Impose annual fee on manufacturers and importers of branded drugs – begins in 2010 – $22 B tax increase
Impose annual fee on manufacturers and importers of certain medical devices – begins in 2010 – $19 B tax increase
Impose annual fee on manufacturers and importers of certain medical devices – begins in 2010 – $60 B tax increase
Cut in half (to $500K) the amount of an executive’s compensation that a health plan can deduct from its corporate income taxes – begins in 2013 – $600 million tax increase
Impose 5% excise tax on cosmetic surgery and similar procedures – begins for surgery in 2010 – $6 B tax increase!

According to the Senate GOP research committee, the bill will raise taxes by $493.6 billion and cut Medicare by $464.6 billion.

Click here to read Hennessey's observations on these taxes and their widespread implications.