Congressman Tom Reed questioned Internal Revenue Service (IRS) leaders at a committee meeting regarding "Obamacare" and came away very concerned about the tax agency's readiness to fully implement the Affordable Care Act next year.
Yesterday, the Subcommittee on Oversight of the House Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing on Internal Revenue Service Implementation and Administration of the Affordable Care Act. The purpose of the hearing was to review the IRS's progress in implementing various provisions of the health care law and to hear how its new duties under the health care law will affect both taxpayers and the agency's core revenue-collection function.
"I remain very concerned that the mandates and tax increases of the act are having a negative impact on job creation," Reed said. "Businesses legitimately fear anticipated cost increases when the law is fully implemented next year. Full implementation will require one of the largest tax increases on individuals and businesses in history. It will cost more than a trillion with most of the burden falling on the middle class and small businesses."
"What I heard in the hearing is that the IRS is woefully unprepared and unable to fulfill its duties as 'Obamacare' is fully implemented," Reed commented. "The IRS cannot even estimate the number of new employees it will need to hire to administer the new law. It is telling businesses to be ready to comply with new rules without knowing exactly what those rules will be or exactly how they will be administered."
Reed continues to support repeal of "Obamacare" believing that two years hindsight of just the initial stages of implementation of the Affordable Care Act clearly shows that the law over-promises, over-spends and under-performs. In a press release, Reed says he supports insurance reforms such as coverage for pre-existing conditions and preventative care as part of any replacement package.
