How About This Tea Party?

From a tax standpoint, what does this special election mean? I think the revenue provisions in the House and Senate health care bills, which the Washington politicians are trying to resolve, are in trouble – maybe big trouble.

Why? Both the House and Senate health care reform bills would use the tax code to punish. Punish people who don’t do what the government tells them to do regarding their health care; punish people whose health care plans are better than most; punish people who, in the government’s opinion, make too much money.

Despite its apparent popularity in the Obama administration and in Congress, using the tax code to punish people for not doing what the government wants them to do is a bad idea.

View TaxAnalysts' Chris Bergin's opinion in its entirety on TAX.com.