By: Susan Ferrechio
Chief Congressional Correspondent
April 16, 2010

As protesters rallied outside, Democrats and Republicans engaged in a battle over taxes in the Capitol, with Democrats claiming credit for massive tax cuts while Republicans accused them of actually raising taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars and breaking President Obama’s pledge to not raise taxes on the middle class.

The first volley was fired by House Democrats, who sent a missive to reporters proclaiming they have led Congress to cut taxes by more than $800 billion.

“In the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Congress and the President acted swiftly to bring relief to our nation’s families and businesses, and create good-paying jobs,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement. “A critical element of that relief and recovery effort was tax cuts for the middle class and small business owners.”

Pelosi credited the $850 billion stimulus bill, saying more than one-third of it is comprised of tax relief for the middle class.

Democrats are also touting the new health care law as a tax cut because many people will get tax credits if they purchase health insurance.

Incredulous Republicans disputed the claim, saying much of what Democrats call tax cuts is actually government spending, and that the party has passed middle class tax increases and is planning more, including a potential fuel tax, a tax on those who do not purchase health insurance and a tax on expensive insurance plans.

Get full story here.

$15.2 Billion Tax Increase on Out of Pocket Medical Expenses

Beginning January 1, 2013, ObamaCare limits the medical expense deduction, which will raise taxes by $15.2 billion over ten years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Under current law, if out-of-pocket medical expenses, including health insurance premiums and medical procedures not covered by health insurance, exceed 7.5 percent of Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), then those expenses are fully deductible.

Americans who have high out-of-pocket medical costs or are sick take this deduction.   Even some of the most expensive and comprehensive health insurance plans – including FEHBPs – don’t cover high-cost medical procedures, such as in-vitro fertilization where the cost for the procedure and the prescription drugs can run as high as $20,000 per treatment and where families can have multiple treatments in a year.

ObamaCare increases the medical expense threshold from 7.5 percent of AGI to 10 percent on most Americans (seniors get a three-year reprieve) beginning on January 1, 2013.   The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the new limit will affect 14.8 million taxpayers — 14.7 million of whom will earn less than $200,000 a year!

For further reading, click here.

For previous ObamaCare Flatlines, visit www.gop.gov.

###

GOP Calls for Tax Cuts While Voting Against Hundreds of Billions in Cuts