Obamacare “tax” Illegitimate

Judge Hit With ‘Silver Bullet’ to Kill Obamacare

Full D.C. Circuit shown cardinal flaw in Obama’s signature law

(Pacific Legal) - Filing a petition for en banc review, Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) today asked the full U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to hear PLF’s “Origination Clause” challenge to the Affordable Care Act (i.e., Obamacare).  The petition comes after an adverse ruling by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit this past July.

PLF’s lawsuit targets Obamacare’s individual mandate “tax,” because it started in the Senate, not in the House of Representatives, as required by Article 1, Section 7, of the Constitution (the Origination Clause).

“Because the issues in this case are so important for all Americans, PLF has a responsibility to seek review by the full D.C. Circuit, and, ultimately, by the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary,” said PLF Principal Attorney Paul J. Beard II.  “Not only is everyone affected by Obamacare and its tax and regulatory burden, but we all have a stake in the integrity of the Constitution and its procedural protections for taxpayers.”

Defending an important constitutional protection for taxpayers

“The Founders had good reason for vesting the power to launch taxes with the House,” Beard continued.  “They knew the power to tax can be abused, and they wanted to limit that danger by giving the primary authority to the chamber closest to the people.  Unfortunately, the three judge panel that ruled against PLF’s Obamacare challenge has undermined that protection for the public by announcing a disturbing new exception to it.”

The panel held that courts can decide what the “main object or aim” of a tax is, and if it isn’t to raise revenue, the Origination Clause doesn’t apply.  “This loophole gives courts leeway to arbitrarily exempt taxes from constitutional requirements,” Beard contended.  “Many taxes, not just the individual mandate, could be given a pass from having to start in the House.  After all, many taxes have purposes other than simply to raise revenue.  Cigarette taxes, for example, are designed, also, to affect behavior.”

Obamacare raises taxes massively — and unconstitutionally

PLF’s lawsuit focuses on Obamacare’s individual mandate, which requires Americans to buy a federally prescribed insurance plan or pay a fee.  In its 2012 ruling that upheld Obamacare against a Commerce Clause challenge, the U.S. Supreme Court labeled the individual mandate as a “tax.”  Indeed, according to Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), more than a dozen revenue-related planks in Obamacare — including the individual mandate — collectively will impose more than $800 billion in new levies.  The individual mandate alone amounts to a $54 billion tax on individuals over ten years, and $113 billion on businesses, according to the JCT.

Yet Obamacare was not enacted in compliance with constitutional procedures for raising taxes.  Article I, Section 7, requires that legislation to raise revenue must start in the House, in order to keep the taxing power close to the people.  But Obamacare began in the Senate.  Majority Leader Harry Reid took an unrelated House bill (a measure to help veterans buy homes, which raised no revenue), gutted it, and inserted the language of Obamacare.

PLF’s lawsuit aims to take down all of Obamacare

PLF’s lawsuit takes on the ACA in its entirety.  Because the individual mandate is central to the design of Obamacare, PLF’s suit asks that the entire law be struck down.

Plaintiff Matt Sissel:  a small business owner who loves liberty

Matt Sissel, the plaintiff in this constitutional challenge to Obamacare, is a small business owner who chooses to pay medical expenses on his own.  He objects on financial, philosophical, and constitutional grounds to being ordered to purchase a health plan he does not need or want.

A self-employed artist, Matt spent two years in Iraq as a combat medic with the Iowa Army National Guard.  During his second year he also helped train and advise the Iraqi military.  He received the Bronze Star for his service.

http://www.pacificlegal.org/releases/PLF-asks-DC-Circuit-to-hear-challenge-to-Obamacare

Source: http://www.teaparty.org/judge-hit-silver-bullet-kill-obamacare-59740/