Subject: Taxing Employer Provided Health Insurance Comment: Dear Mr. Mack, Mr. Breaux, and honorable members of panel, It would be a further burden on already struggling middle class, and working poor taxpayers, to tax their health benefits. This would be just adding another tax, which could result in another deduction, shuffling the policy purchaser, if they had to purchase a stand alone policy, to get the medical deduction. (In this case there would be a record number of people wanting to drop employer provided insurance to take the deduction on self purchased policy.) Unfortunately, resulting in a cruel trap and in many cases cost prohibitive, say for instance diabetics, ongoing cancer care, etc. This added tax punishes the employee for getting benefits, that are a planned part of many employment packages. They may not get cost of living wages like other employees, or guaranteed pensions for life, but the health insurance keeps them above water, so to speak. (My Niece is opting out of health insurance from her husband's employer, since the premium is so high.) She's trying to better herself by going to college to get a job, that hopefully has insurance, only to be taxed on something she worked so hard to attain? This is troubling. Insuring that an individual will not have an increased burden, when illness strikes, should not be a taxable issue. It would be cruel to tax something that is a necessity, needed to survive and part of their planned employee package. There are so many uninsured people as it is, and to have the fortunate ones, that have health insurance as part of a package, penalized by an added tax, for employee health benefits? Gas prices are already a burden and now a tax to maintain health? For the sake of our struggling middle class, and working poor,I beg you, to please think this through. Thank you so much for your time. |