On January 6, 2016, the House of Representatives, by a vote of 240 to 181, approved the Senate-passed legislation, Restoring American Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 (H.R. 3762), that we previously reported about. The legislation would repeal the bulk of the tax provisions enacted in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (often referred to as "Obamacare"). In a January 8, 2016 press release, however, President Obama announced that he has vetoed H.R. 3762.
Of particular interest are provisions in H.R. 3762 which would have repealed:
- The 3.8 percent net investment income tax on certain unearned income of joint filers with adjusted gross income (AGI) over US$ 250,000 (or individual filers with AGI of over US$ 200,000);
- The additional 0.9 percent Medicare hospital insurance tax on wages over US$ 250,000 for joint filers (or over US$ 200,000 for individual filers); and
- The 10 percent of AGI floor for claiming the itemized deductions for medical expenses. The floor would revert to the prior level of 7.5 percent of AGI.
H.R. 3762 was presented to the President on January 7, 2016. Since H.R. 3762 was not passed by a two-thirds majority in either the Senate or the House of Representatives, H.R. 3762 is subject to veto by the President Obama. The Presidential veto is expected to stand leaving these tax provisions of Obamacare intact.
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