The Political Bridge

Fact Checking H.R. 3962: The Amount of the Fine for People Who Don't Get Health Coverage

From FactCheck.org

Information for this comes from a letter written by Thomas Barthold (chief of staff of the House Joint Committee on Taxation) about enforcing the individual health insurance mandate of H.R. 3962, the House-passed bill.  Those who don’t get coverage will be subject to a tax of 2.5 percent of their adjusted income beyond that threshold, up to the cost of the average national premium.

To read this letter Download JCTletter110509

Kentucky, Indiana and 13 Other States Are Taxing the Working Poor Families Deeper in Poverty

Findings of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Sixteen states taxed working-poor families deeper into poverty last year, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Income tax bills on poor families in those 16 states ranged from a few dollars to several hundred dollars, which is a significant amount for a family struggling to make ends meet, the report said.

Among the report’s findings:

Sixteen states, out of the 42 with an income tax, taxed working-poor, married couples with two children in 2008: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon and West Virginia

The number of states taxing extremely poor families of four – those with incomes below three-quarters of the poverty line ($16,513) – decreased from nine in 2007 to six in 2008. Three states that previously taxed such families began exempting them: Hawaii, Michigan, and West Virginia. States still taxing extremely poor families are: Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, and Ohio.