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California Considers Doubling Its Taxes

taxfoundation.org

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Re: California Considers Doubling Its Taxes

#11

Post by lax4ever »

no_wizard wrote: post #4

> to fund a first-in-the-nation single-payer health-care system. This is key here. So instead of paying this out to a private insurance company I pay it in taxes, there by my actual change is net zero, in most cases. I have a feeling most reactions might be headline driven here. I think it’s worth doing the math on how much it costs you in healthcare coverage before really judging a book by its cover here. If my comp…

Do you actually pay that much a year in insurance premiums? I don't live in CA, but I sure don't and my health coverage is pretty good. Keep in mind, this is also just the insurance premium, there's no talk of what co-pays or deductibles would be.

In addition, your employer now has to pay more based on their gross receipts and if you make more than 150k a year you are paying even more.

Re: California Considers Doubling Its Taxes

#12

Post by davesque »

no_wizard wrote: post #4

> to fund a first-in-the-nation single-payer health-care system. This is key here. So instead of paying this out to a private insurance company I pay it in taxes, there by my actual change is net zero, in most cases. I have a feeling most reactions might be headline driven here. I think it’s worth doing the math on how much it costs you in healthcare coverage before really judging a book by its cover here. If my comp…

Also, I guess in theory an employer could pass through the savings of paying for your insurance to your salary. Of course, I'm pretty cynical about that.

Re: California Considers Doubling Its Taxes

#13

Post by after_care »

no_wizard wrote: post #4

> to fund a first-in-the-nation single-payer health-care system. This is key here. So instead of paying this out to a private insurance company I pay it in taxes, there by my actual change is net zero, in most cases. I have a feeling most reactions might be headline driven here. I think it’s worth doing the math on how much it costs you in healthcare coverage before really judging a book by its cover here. If my comp…

It’s very hard to do the math here. It’s largely invisible to me how much my employer is paying in health insurance premiums and it’s unknown that they will add that sum to my salary.

Re: California Considers Doubling Its Taxes

#14

Post by jamestimmins »

As a taxpayer I don't actually have a problem with this.

However, as a California resident who has seen this state's inability to think through regulations effectively or solve housing problems, I'm incredibly skeptical of California's ability to implement single payer healthcare effectively.

I would likely leave the state because I assume California would fail to deliver, and taxes would get raised for nothing.

Re: California Considers Doubling Its Taxes

#15

Post by mdavis6890 »

I do not believe single-payer is a good idea, but then lots of people DO seem to think it is, and the state is probably the best level at which to conduct an experiment this way. As a Californian, I'll be happy to see the experiment conducted, sad that it happens in my state, and excited to be a guinea pig.

My only hope if we do this is that the federal govt or other states do not leap quickly into this and give it a good 10 years to see how things work out for us.

Re: California Considers Doubling Its Taxes

#17

Post by sokoloff »

no_wizard wrote: post #4

> to fund a first-in-the-nation single-payer health-care system. This is key here. So instead of paying this out to a private insurance company I pay it in taxes, there by my actual change is net zero, in most cases. I have a feeling most reactions might be headline driven here. I think it’s worth doing the math on how much it costs you in healthcare coverage before really judging a book by its cover here. If my comp…

Gross receipts taxes seem a particularly bad type of tax to me. If you love vertically integrated, massive conglomerates, GRT is one path to improving their relative competitiveness.

I suspect a GRT is also a regressive form of taxation (just as sales taxes are, though many [most?] states exempt food and other staples from their sales taxes, to minimize the regressive nature of these).

Re: California Considers Doubling Its Taxes

#18

Post by mindslight »

no_wizard wrote: post #4

> to fund a first-in-the-nation single-payer health-care system. This is key here. So instead of paying this out to a private insurance company I pay it in taxes, there by my actual change is net zero, in most cases. I have a feeling most reactions might be headline driven here. I think it’s worth doing the math on how much it costs you in healthcare coverage before really judging a book by its cover here. If my comp…

100% agree. The headline and the article are utterly dishonest. How much are people currently paying in de facto mandatory payments (aka taxes) for health "insurance" ? How much will the total tax on people in various financial situations change? The article doesn't say, distracting with a myopic definition of taxes instead.

As a libertarian, false dichotomies between de jure and de facto government are really bothersome. There are certainly arguments to be debated about single payer. There are certainly arguments to be debated about this particular attempt at "single payer". There are certainly arguments to be debated about who may be shouldering more or less of the costs with this plan. None of them are discussed here.

Re: California Considers Doubling Its Taxes

#19

Post by justicezyx »

no_wizard wrote: post #4

> to fund a first-in-the-nation single-payer health-care system. This is key here. So instead of paying this out to a private insurance company I pay it in taxes, there by my actual change is net zero, in most cases. I have a feeling most reactions might be headline driven here. I think it’s worth doing the math on how much it costs you in healthcare coverage before really judging a book by its cover here. If my comp…

Sure, I'll be happy to accept this. Just waiting for this disfunctioning government to deliver this pipedream in 100 years.

Re: California Considers Doubling Its Taxes

#20

Post by SllX »

This will be one of the easiest “No” votes I’ll have ever filled out on my ballot.

For those following along at home, this resolution would take the form of a Constitutional Amendment, if passed by Californians on the ballot that would raise per household taxes by $12,500/year. The important thing here is that Californians have to agree to pass it.

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