Democrat Joe Donnelly Raised Taxes on Hoosiers With Obamacare Votes
Jun 28, 2018
Donnelly raised taxes
Obamacare Created $819.3 Billion in New Taxes, Including Medical Device Tax
INDIANAPOLIS - Democrat Joe Donnelly voted in favor of raising taxes on Americans by $819.3 billion (CBO, 3/12; JCT, 6/15/12; CBO, 5/14/13; CBO, 7/30/13) with his 2010 vote for Obamacare, and has consistently voted against every opportunity to repeal these burdensome taxes.
This includes his vote for the individual mandate tax, which forces Hoosiers to either buy expensive health insurance or pay a hefty penalty on their federal taxes, and the medical device tax, which would stymie innovation for an industry that employs thousands of Hoosiers and would cost medical device manufacturers an additional $29 billion in taxes.
"Given an option, Democrat Joe Donnelly has shown that he will always choose higher taxes instead of working to actually make health care more affordable for Hoosiers," said Kyle Hupfer, chairman of the Indiana Republican Party. "Does Democrat Donnelly really think that working Hoosiers should have to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars in extra taxes because they choose not to purchase health insurance? If not, then why does he continue to support Obamacare, even as it's forcing Hoosiers to choose between unaffordable health insurance or higher taxes?"
In December 2017, Democrat Donnelly voted to maintain the individual mandate tax on Hoosiers when he voted against President Donald Trump's signature tax cut legislation.
Among these $819.3 billion in new taxes are more than 20 new or higher taxes, including several that are specifically impacting Hoosiers and Indiana businesses, including:
Medical Device Tax
This includes his vote for the individual mandate tax, which forces Hoosiers to either buy expensive health insurance or pay a hefty penalty on their federal taxes, and the medical device tax, which would stymie innovation for an industry that employs thousands of Hoosiers and would cost medical device manufacturers an additional $29 billion in taxes.
"Given an option, Democrat Joe Donnelly has shown that he will always choose higher taxes instead of working to actually make health care more affordable for Hoosiers," said Kyle Hupfer, chairman of the Indiana Republican Party. "Does Democrat Donnelly really think that working Hoosiers should have to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars in extra taxes because they choose not to purchase health insurance? If not, then why does he continue to support Obamacare, even as it's forcing Hoosiers to choose between unaffordable health insurance or higher taxes?"
In December 2017, Democrat Donnelly voted to maintain the individual mandate tax on Hoosiers when he voted against President Donald Trump's signature tax cut legislation.
Among these $819.3 billion in new taxes are more than 20 new or higher taxes, including several that are specifically impacting Hoosiers and Indiana businesses, including:
Medical Device Tax
- Democrat Donnelly voted in favor of the medical device tax in 2010 with his vote for Obamacare, which places a 2.3 percent excise tax on Indiana's medical device manufacturers. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the medical device tax is estimated to potentially generate $29 billion in taxes from the industry.
- Experts say that this tax could stifle critical innovation and R&D with medical devices, limit investments in new technologies, lead to job loses in the industry and force companies to move operations overseas.
- The medical device industry employs more than 17,000 Hoosiers at 155 Indiana companies, paying an average wage well above the state average.
- The medical device sector is a large part of Indiana's vibrant life sciences industry, which is second in the nation for exports. Indiana is home to the Orthopedic Capital of the World, with three of the five largest orthopedic device companies in the nation based in northeast Indiana.
Individual Mandate Tax
- Democrat Donnelly voted in favor of the individual mandate tax as part of Obamacare, and voted against its repeal in the December 2017 tax reform legislation.
- The individual mandate requires Americans to either purchase health insurance or pay a fine as part of their annual tax filing. This tax places an additional burden on Americans who either choose not to purchase insurance or cannot afford it.
- According to the IRS, in 2015 6.67 million Americans paid the individual mandate tax, with 80 percent of all people paying the tax earning less than $50,000 annually. This disproportionally raises taxes on middle-class Americans.
- In 2017, the individual mandate tax cost Hoosiers either 2.5 percent of their yearly household income or $695 per adult (with a household maximum of $2,085), whichever was higher.
- Between just 2013 and 2017, Hoosiers purchasing their health insurance through the Obamacare marketplace saw their premiums rise by an average of 74 percent -- or an extra $178 each month. With the rising cost of buying health insurance, too many Hoosiers were paying this tax until the individual mandate repeal late last year.
Earlier this month, Democrat Donnelly admitted at the 2018 Indiana Democrat State Convention that he was the deciding vote in 2017 blocking the repeal of Obamacare, which failed with a 49-51 vote.
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