John Katz, Editor,The American Dossier
Happy Tax Day 2019. It is 6:41 PM on April 14th and thankfully taxes for 2018 have already been sent off. Like most fellow Americans filing taxes, it is a yearly task that involves much tedious swiping at the brow and nail-biting moments. Especially if a need arises to call the IRS to find an answer to a simple inquiry. It is an over consuming process of navigating the overabundance of voices prompts and tax regulations even in the case when you have a hired a tax expert.
There has been much fanfare these past few weeks among the 2020 Presidential contenders on healthcare, taxes and the need for everybody to pay their “fair share”.
The reality is that we have relied on politicians to resolve these issues for way too long. I would bet a dollar that if any of these contenders have their way the process will be even more overly regulated and complex with no regard to the everyday Joe. When it comes to the task of dealing with the aspect of healthcare regulations and when it comes to the health exchange, most of us are drowning in costs of being regulated by various absurd government created mathematical equations.
Meanwhile members of Congress and their staff are required to purchase their health insurance through the exchanges offered by the Affordable Care Act. However, the big break is for them…the federal government subsidizes approximately 72 percent of the premium cost, and there are more perks.
Does that sound like paying their fair share to you?
What has gone much ignored is the individual level of understanding of the quality of the product options when it comes to The Affordable Care Act. It is much like cell phone deals from the early dawn in which you would buy the phone for a penny and end up with an unexpected $1000 bill.
For the past three years of filing taxes and purchasing a product from the exchange with very few options my family has been dealt the blow of being penalized with a hefty penalty, because at the end of the year our income was deemed too high for Health Coverage Tax Credits, after the fact of paying into a plan.
Sitting here I still do not fully comprehend that rational of a law that is supposed to be affordable let alone comprehendible.
Thankfully President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into action; the bill repealed the Affordable Care Act’s penalty by zeroing out the fines starting in 2019.
What remains in limbo is where the football will be punted next in this quagmire of quagmires of high cost government regulated healthcare and ‘fair share’ tax rates.
Healthcare and taxes have long been the auditioning issues for promising political candidates. The reality is that these issues regulated by the government are neither affordable or comprehendible unless you are a politician. Perhaps we should begin by having politicians navigate the same system the everyday tax payers are forced to follow and pay for their fair share? After all what is good for me should be good for thee?