Tuesday, April 6, 2010

IRS: Buy health insurance or lose your tax refund

The Daily Caller: Individuals who don’t purchase health insurance may lose their tax refunds according to IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. After acknowledging the recently passed health-care bill limits the agency’s options for enforcing the individual mandate, Shulman told reporters that the most likely way to penalize individuals that don’t comply is by reducing or confiscating their tax refunds.
Speaking at the National Press Club on Monday, Shulman downplayed the IRS’s role in enforcing the recent overhaul of the health insurance industry by claiming the agency would not aggressively target individuals who don’t purchase coverage. He noted that the health-care bill expressly forbids the agency from freezing bank accounts, seizing assets or pursuing criminal charges, but when pressed said the IRS would most likely use tax refund offsets to penalize those that don’t comply with the mandate. The IRS uses refund offsets to collect from individuals that owe the federal government a delinquent debt.
“These are not the kinds of things we send agents out about,” Shulman said. “These are things where you get a letter from us. Congress was very careful to make sure there was nothing too punitive in this bill.” [...]
We all knew something like this would have to be the case. What better way to collect the penalty than to hold on to refunds?  When I read this article, I was immediately reminded of a debate Bill O’Reilly had with Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY).  Wiener tried his best not to say that the IRS would be the enforcer of the individual mandate. I wonder if Weiner would like to have another go at that answer?

  

Right now the IRS is saying that they are not aggressively going after people who fail to buy insurance. However, as the cost of ObamaCare explodes (the bogus assumptions given to the CBO makes this a certainty) who is to say the IRS won’t be given a freer hand get the much needed dollars to keep this insane program going.

Let’s just hope these state lawsuits are successful, because a nasty can of worms will be open once the IRS gets involved.

13 comments:

RightKlik said...

Wow..AP article. Cool.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9ETR1380&show_article=1

Somebody needs to tell the AP about Gallup:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/127181/Tea-Partiers-Fairly-Mainstream-Demographics.aspx

Anonymous said...

Great minds think alike, I posted something similar today myself, lol. Great blog, you've been getting a lot of free media, found you via a story on Brietbart.

Unkel Knuckle
http://unkelknuckle.wordpress.com/

Anonymous said...

What the populance is doing when they get refunds is giving the government an interest free loan, perhaps this stance will backfire on the government because if we're going to have our refunds garnished, perhaps we'll stop giving the interest free loans. How many will be sure to owe as to avoid now not only giving an interest free loan, but giving a statist government free money.

Liz said...

The AP sucks. They are biased most of the time, and don't investigate well.

Peter V. Bella said...

I just read about you in the Breitbart column. I put a link on my blog to yours. Keep up the good fight.

Never forget, polarizing and separating people is just a tactic to get us to hate each other.

Clifton B said...

Right Klik:

You get the prize, you actually found the article before I did, LOL

I have to cut Valerie Bauman some slack, she complied this report before the Gallup numbers were released. Since I am not sure she had time to make appropriate changes, I will give her the benefit of the doubt.

Clifton B said...

Unkel Knuckle:

Nice post on your blog, you make a very good point on the post script.

The free press simply comes because right now I am the only black conservative who shows up on Memeorandum :-( LOL

Speaking of free press, did you notice my blog of the day?

Clifton B said...

Madmath1:

You make a good point about refunds. I for one try to break even or owe just a little bit. I simply cannot afford to give out loans, interest free or otherwise.

Clifton B said...

Liz:

As far as AP stories go, this one wasn't bad. I have seen some doozies.

Janelle said...

How many pages are enough? 100,000, 210,000....or just reducing the 60,000 plus pages of tax codes and exemptions already in place.

Clifton B said...

Hey Peter:


Thanks for the linky dink. I returned the favor!

Clifton B said...

Janelle:

I don't think those jokers would bat an eye at 500,000 pages. That is how insane things have become with the IRS.

buying individual health insurance said...

i agree with clifton's opinion because i also don't think that those jokers would bat an eye at 500,000 pages and according to me it is very right....very nice article my friend

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