Thursday, October 24, 2013

"Opt-Out Obamacare Penalty Can't Be Enforced -- Unless You Get a Tax Refund"

RUSH: For those of us who take as long as we can to pay our taxes, October 15th was the extension filing date for 2012, and I dutifully was in there. My accountant, who is almost afraid to be my accountant because he thinks he's gonna get targeted, too, just 'cause his name's on my return, he said, "Look, you may not know this, but you keep talking about these Obamacare fines if you don't buy a policy...

... [H]e said to me that, according to the law, the only way that the government can collect the fine or penalty for you not buying insurance is if you are owed a tax refund. If you do not owe a tax refund, they cannot go into your bank account or anywhere else and get that money. Now, the sad thing is that most people file their taxes to get a refund 'cause they think they're screwing the government, and they're not. You're giving the government all that money all that year...

Therefore, the only way that they can collect the penalty or the fine is by taking money from your refund. If you are not owed a refund, they cannot get money from you. They can't issue a lien. They can't garnish your wages. They can't use any of the normal procedures available to them if you owe them money, even though the Supreme Court has said it's a tax...

... [I]f you structure your taxes so that you do not get a refund, you do not have to buy insurance and you do not have to pay a fine 'cause they can't collect it from you if you don't have a refund due. And that is just another nail in the coffin of Obamacare imploding on itself.

Rush Limbaugh via Drudge Tweet

27 comments:

President-Mom-Jeans said...

Like what the law says will have any relation to what King Barry the Petulant and his IRS goons will do.

There is no rule of law in this country under B. Hussein, and Rush should know better.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Obamacare Operator Fired After Taking Call From Hannity

Please refrain from calling the Obama administration fascist.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Lots of talk about delaying the "Individual Mandate".
hmmm. Kinda vindicates Ted Cruz.

bagoh20 said...

Seriously, I have never seen anything simple or complicated from any organization that was so poorly done as this law. Was this done by those chimps with typewriters?

bagoh20 said...

"Kinda vindicates Ted Cruz."

Sure he was right all along, and virtually everyone else was wrong, but that's in the other universe. Here in bizarro world, he's a foolish, self-interested nutjob, and Romney, who was also right about everything, is an out-of-touch greedy businessman who can't be trusted, and Obama is a benevolent capable man running a government that gets things done for the people.

Wanna join me in the escape pod?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Wanna join me in the escape pod?

Yes please!

test said...

If you are not owed a refund, they cannot get money from you.

This may be true today, but in five years it will be a "loophole" and "fixed".

Calypso Facto said...

Was this done by those chimps with typewriters?

Except that the chimps theoretically get it right in the end.

Birches said...

I can't believe that poor lady got fired. You're working at a call center for goodness' sake! What's your job if not to answer questions?

And $26,000/year? How come Dems promise good paying jobs and end up paying crap?

Rabel said...

It's important that everybody follows the rules.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

If you are not owed a refund, they cannot get money from you. They can't issue a lien. They can't garnish your wages. They can't use any of the normal procedures available to them if you owe them money...

I'm betting the argument will be made that people who don't pay the ACA penalty are likely to cheat on their taxes in other ways. Don't pay your penalty? Guaranteed audit. For the past 7 years.

bagoh20 said...

"Except that the chimps theoretically get it right in the end."

We're gonna need more chimps....and a few billion dollars. Bananas aren't cheap. So of course we need a Czar of Banana Procurement and a couple thousand pages of new chimp labor regulations.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Woot?

No way Jose Rabel.

My guy Lester won fair and square.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

We're all just monkeys pushing pedals.

Aridog said...

Birches said ...

And $26,000/year? How come Dems promise good paying jobs and end up paying crap?

Wow! $12.50 per hour. Did that job have employer paid or subsidized health benefits? Did they classify Ms Erling Davis as an "employee" or as a "contractor?"

Enquiring minds need to know these things. Note that usual entry level civil service grade is GS-05 at $27,531 plus a locality "adjustment" of +25% or more for major urban areas ... e.g.$34,414. But this call bank pays $26,000?

This Obama outfit sure pays their toads like they pay themselves and their friends, eh?

deborah said...

"We're all just monkeys pushing pedals."

Now you got it! :)

deborah said...

Ari, I would imagine that info will be available shortly when she appears on Hannity.

Aridog said...

Lem said ...

My guy Lester won fair and square.

Yeah, Rabel...you do know it is only a penalty if one gets caught by an official.

Anyway, that looked more like a double coughed up green loogie than Vaseline.

Play Ball!! :)

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I'll never forget an episode of HGTV I saw years ago. 2006 or 2008?

It was Clair McCaskill's(D) proud new staffer-- shopping for a $600,000+ Condo in DC.

That's a lot of bananas.

And that's just ONE staffer.
She is one of many staffers who help write these horrible bills and who are ultimately exempted from them.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Of course if you dare question the great and powerful Pelosi-Reid staffer Obama ACA butt-screw - you too are a Monkey with your Monkey Trial. Now shut up.

Aridog said...

deborah ... what I'd really like to see is the contract hiring the call bank contractor. How RFP/RFQ'd and how bid reviewed? What they get per hour versus what they pay per hour and how the person is categorized.

deborah said...

You should be able to use the freedom of info act and get results in 10 years.

Aridog said...

Deborah ... I already queried FedBiz ... aka https://www.fbo.gov/ ... but didn't find it. Researching with added criteria could, as you say, take years, even without FOIA. However, if it was not RFQ'd and awarded unilaterally...the result might be never ever.

deborah said...

And you know your way around that kind of thing with your govt background. It's all out of control, a sort of self-organizing entity. April mentioned the 600K-house staffer...it's like a house of cards, with staffers, think tanks, lobbyists...maybe true capitalism?

Rabel said...

An emery memory.

Aridog said...

A government "staffer" buying a $600K anything in DC is NOT...repeat for clarity...NOT a civil servant in the common GS grades. They would be SES or higher, "flag ranks" with their own special flags you must display when they deign to visit you. All flag ranks, civilian or military are "appointed."

If you literally cut 90% of all SES slots and 60% of all generals and admirals slots no one would notice any decrease in departmental performance...if fact it would very likely improve dramatically.

I will admit I have a strong negative bias...but it is founded in experience that says about 70% plus of flag ranks are unqualified for their positions and that, for the most part(Easily 70%+) their positions are unnecessary and merely an encumbrance.

Note that E-V-E-R-Y time some government department or agency "reorganizes" it decreases civil service slots or military on-line slots and increases SES & flag rank positions...which have now reached the point that, en' mass, each SES or General person over sees roughly the number of personnel that a Lieutenant Colonel or Colonel would normally Command (750-1500), and in the SES ranks, sometimes no more than a Captain would command (250). We have way too many honchos and far too few worker bees.

In my recent experience I watched as an individual DoD unit was cut back to 400 personnel by RIF, and then 40+ additional "senior managers" positions were created and filled with personnel with literally zero experience or background in their respective positions....e.g., none of them, not a single one, has ever done any of the work they oversee.

Of course it is a train wreck. But I doubt anyone will notice the 99% inefficiency involved. Mainly, because it keeps happening over and over. Make it illegal to "reorganize" any agency or element therein more often than once in 10 years and we could save billions.

deborah said...

Man, what a depressing post, Ari! A spiderweb of vanity and deceit.