AMERICANS FOR TAX REFORM:
Self-avowed socialist and Democrat presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has released his proposal for a government takeover of the American healthcare system. The proposal, which Sanders calls “Medicare for All,” replaces private insurance with government as the single payer.
Rather than including financing mechanisms in the legislation, Sanders released a set of tax hike “options” that would be paired with the proposal.
These tax hikes would hit American families at every income level and businesses large and small. The proposal increases taxes by $16.2 trillion over the next decade, according to an estimate of Americans for Tax Reform.
This would pay for roughly half of the cost of single payer healthcare, which costs between $32 trillion and $36 trillion according to estimates.
The list of proposed tax hikes are below:
A New, 4 Percent Employee Payroll Tax
Sanders would impose another 4 percent payroll tax which on employees which he calls an “income-based premium paid by employees.”
According to Sen. Sanders’ estimates, this increases taxes on American families and individuals by $3.9 trillion.
A New, 7 Percent Employer Payroll Tax
Sanders would impose another 7 percent payroll tax which on employees which he calls an “income-based premium paid by employers.”
This is a $3.5 trillion tax increase over ten years.
Eliminating Health Tax “Expenditures”
The proposal would ban employer-provided insurance and repeal the deduction for health care, increasing taxes on businesses by over $3 trillion over a decade.
This proposal would also repeal Health Savings Accounts, which are utilized by an estimated 25 million American families. These tax advantaged savings accounts largely benefit the middle class – roughly half of all HSAs are owned by families earning between $60,000 and $200,000.
The deduction for cafeteria plans and the medical expense deduction is also eliminated.
In all, Sanders estimates this will increase taxes on families and businesses by $4.2 trillion.
