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President Obama’s Other Tax Hikes

With all the talk in Washington and across the country focused on President Obama’s attempt to raise taxes on small businesses, it is easy to forget the tax increases that will occur in the new year as a consequence of the president’s health care law. We were reminded this past week as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released new rules regarding the application of a new 0.9 percent payroll tax on wages and a 3.8 percent tax on dividends, capital gains, and other investment income for higher income individuals and families. Additionally, the IRS has released its final rules for a new tax on medical devices. In total, President Obama’s health care law includes at least 21 new taxes on the American people.

The tax on medical supplies and technologies is particularly troubling because it will make medical items ranging from latex gloves to pacemakers more expensive and in some cases, more scarce. The tax on medical devices harms America’s ability to conduct the necessary research and development to maintain our global competitiveness, resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs and fewer groundbreaking innovations in this field.  With millions of Americans unemployed, this simply makes no sense.

There is bipartisan support for repealing the medical device tax as confirmed by a vote in the House of Representatives this past summer on legislation to do just that. This is a place where Republicans and Democrats alike can find common ground in efforts to serve the American people, protect patient-centered health care, and safeguard American jobs.

House Republicans Stand By Taxpayers

In Thursday’s edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, I penned an op-ed stating unequivocally that House Republicans are standing strong with American taxpayers:

The New Year is steadily approaching, and with it, the “fiscal cliff.” If Congress and President Barack Obama take no action, taxes will rise on all Americans. And the only thing standing between your family and a devastating tax increase is House Republicans.

House Republicans have worked in good faith, agreeing in principle to a plan that reforms the tax code by lowering rates, broadening the base and closing special-interest loopholes. These pro-growth policies would generate more revenue for the federal government and establish conditions for job creation. If they are coupled with serious reductions in spending, we can stop the nation from going over a fiscal cliff that will destroy jobs and wreak havoc on our economy.

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