House Holds Hearing Today on The Tax-Related Provisions in the President’s Health Care Law

The Subcommittee on Oversight of the House Ways & Means Committee holds a hearing today on The Tax-Related Provisions in the President’s Health Care Law:

According to the Government Accountability Office, the President’s health care law contains 47 tax or tax-related provisions.  Estimates by the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation confirm that tax increases associated with the law total more than $1 trillion over the next ten years. Many of these provisions are already in effect, and others will become effective in 2014.  Key provisions include:  a tax on medical device and drug manufacturers, and health insurers; a tax on individuals and families who do not purchase government-mandated health insurance, a tax on employers that do not offer government-mandated health insurance, additional Medicare taxes and taxes on investment income.

In its review of the tax provisions of the President’s health care law, the Subcommittee will consider the:  (1) status of implementation of key tax provisions; (2) compliance issues associated with the tax provisions and accompanying regulations; and (3) economic effects of the provisions.

• Douglas Holtz-Eakin (President, American Action Forum)
• Walt Humann (President & CEO, OsteoMed)
• Hugh Joyce (James River Heating & Air Conditioning Company)
• David Kautter (Managing Director, Kogod Tax Center, American University)
• Dan Moore (Chairman, Medical Device Manufacturers Association)
• Shelly Sun (CEO & Co-Founder, BrightStar Care)
• Paul N. Van de Water (Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities )

In connection with the hearing, the Joint Committee on Taxation has released Present Law and Background Relating to the Tax-Related Provisions in the Affordable Care Act (JCX-6-13):

This document ... provides a summary of health insurance changes made by the ACA and a description of the present-law rules with respect to the ACA revenue provisions and includes a discussion of implementation6 of these revenue provisions. The descriptions of the ACA revenue provisions are divided into three sections. Section I describes provisions in effect as of 2013; Section II describes provisions becoming effective in 2014; and Section III describes the one provision becoming effective in 2018. In the case of new Code provisions and the ACA revenue provisions creating new industry fees, this document describes the new provisions (reflecting post-enactment amendments, if any). In the case of pre-existing Code provisions amended by the ACA, this document describes the present law with respect to the relevant Code provision, as amended by the ACA. Other background with respect to a provision is included in the description to the extent needed to understand the present law with respect to that provision.