Pic Of The Moment: Well Now We Know Why Republicans Rushed Their Obamacare Repeal Bill Through

[progree]

8. The wealthy are already getting a huge tax reduction (over a decade) in the AHCA

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the ((AHCA)) bill would repeal taxes imposed by the ACA such as a 3.8% tax on capital gains and a 0.9% tax on income for Medicare. Just repealing these and other ACA taxes would cost $600 billion through 2026, according to an estimate from Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation. ((Yahoo Finance 3/7/17))

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/we-still-dont-know-how-much-trumpcare-will-cost-213053626.html
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the 3.8% net investment income tax and the 0.9% Medicare surcharge are imposed only on the top 2 tax brackets -- incomes above about $400,000.

Anyway, that's the main reason why after eviscerating Medicare and cutting the subsidies for the ACA exchanges, AHCA saves only $119 billion over a decade.

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Update: from the 5/24/17 CBO report:
https://www.cbo.gov/publication/52752

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The largest increases in the deficit would come from repealing or modifying tax provisions in the ACA that are not directly related to health insurance coverage—such as repealing a surtax on net investment income, repealing annual fees imposed on health insurers, and reducing the income threshold for determining the tax deduction for medical expenses.
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and then the graphic that follows shows $664 billion for :

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* repeal or delay of taxes on high-income people, fees imposed on manufacturers, and excise taxes enacted under the ACA
* Modification of various tax preferences for medical care
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Another edit:

The full report is here:
https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/115th-congress-2017-2018/costestimate/hr1628aspassed.pdf

and there is a table that breaks it all down -- Table 2. See p. 38. I don't have time to figure it all out right now, but repeal of the Net Investment Income Tax is $172 billion. I'll have to study some more to figure out which item is the 0.9% Medicare tax surcharge -- also imposed only on the top 2 tax brackets.