Congressman Hank Johnson Opposes Republican Tax Hike on Middle Class Families

Today, Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04), Whip of the Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement on Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011, a measure to repeal IRS reporting requirements mandated by last year’s health care reform law.

“I voted to repeal this burdensome provision last year, but it was blocked by Republicans,” said Johnson.

“This bill shows the underlying difference between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats voted to pay for “1099” repeal by closing tax loopholes for corporations that ship jobs overseas. Now, Republicans want to pay for its repeal by slapping a $25 billion dollar tax increase on the middle class.”

Unfortunately, H.R. 4 is another attack on working families. Specifically, Health Care Reform protected people receiving subsidies from having to pay the IRS the entire difference in their tax credit level if they saw a change in income. Under the law, the payment amount for individuals with incomes below 400 percent of poverty was capped at $250 for an individual and $400 for a family. However, people whose income changed even slightly above 400 percent of poverty would suddenly owe the IRS 100 percent of any tax credits they received.

Under the Republican Middle Class Tax Increase in H.R. 4, if a family of four earning $88,000 a year gets a Christmas bonus of $250, they would be required to refund their entire health insurance tax credit of $4,640 to the government. This legislation would increase taxes for many middle class American families.

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