by Michael Graham
The Natural Truth
4 September 2009
If you enjoy the compassionate care and warm bedside manner of the IRS, you’re gonna love ObamaCare.
health care reform, as currently envisioned by Democratic leaders, would be built on the foundation of an expanded and more intrusive IRS.
Under the various proposals now on the table, the IRS would become the main agency for determining who has an “acceptable” health insurance plan; for finding and punishing those who don’t have such a plan; for subsidizing individual health insurance costs through the issuance of a tax credits; and for enforcing the rules on those who attempt to opt out, abuse, or game the system. A substantial portion of H.R. 3200, the House health care bill, is devoted to amending the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in order to give the IRS the authority to perform these new duties.
And when an IRS agent tells you to bend over and relax, you know it’s not going to be a pleasant experience. But wait a minute–I thought my IRS information was private?
Under current law, it is a felony for a government official to release taxpayer information in all but the most limited of circumstances…The health care bills would change the Internal Revenue Code to permit the IRS to give similar information to the vast, new health care bureaucracy.
That means the personal tax information of millions of Americans would enter the system whether they want it to or not…”How many hands would this information go through?” asks a GOP source in the Senate. “What are the quality controls? This increases the risk of misusing this information.”
I know what you’re saying. “C’mon, Michael–stop being so paranoid. The Obama administration would never use someone’s private government records for political reasons. Just ask Joe the Plumber…”
