It's a tax folks:
Folks here who are arguing about “honesty” and “dishonesty” in the interpretation of federal statutes, or about the “letter of the law” as opposed to the substance and purpose of the law, or who believe that a “magic word” will make the difference between whether a law imposes a “tax” or a non-tax “penalty,” are obfuscating. They want ACA to be struck down, and don’t much care how it is done.Truth doesn't always win out, but it kinda matters all the same.
The actual provisions of the ACA tell a different story. The provisions relating to the minimum health insurance requirement (commonly, but not accurately, called the mandate) are all geared to income taxes. They provide that, beginning in 2014, non-exempted federal income tax payers who fail to maintain a minimum level of health insurance coverage for themselves or their dependents will owe a penalty for each month in the tax year during which minimum coverage is not maintained. 26 U.S.C.A..5000a. The amount of the penalty will be calculated as a percentage of household income for federal income tax purposes. 26 U.S.C.A.. 5000a(c). The penalty will be reported on the taxpayer’s federal income tax return and assessed and collected by the Internal Revenue Service. 26 U.S.C.A.. 5000a(b)(2) and (g). Individuals who are not required to file federal income tax returns for a given year will be exempt from the penalty. 26 U.S.C.A.. 5000a(e). Looking at these provisions, and analyzing what they actually require, it is clear that the so-called “penalty” operates as a tax; is imposed as a tax; is measured by taxable income; is collected as a tax. And it is an income tax.