There's a lot of talk lately about whether the IRS will be 'enforcing' the individual mandate. But by the letter of the law, they can't. All they can do is withhold any refunds due a taxpayer who doesn't comply. If the taxpayer didn't overpay their taxes in the first place, the IRS can't touch them.
I remember when I was hired for my first real job (literally a McJob, I was a fry cook for MickeyD's), the person walking me through the paper work suggested that I claim zero exemptions for purposes of income tax withholding. "Why would I want to do that?", I asked. "Because then you'll get a bigger refund at the end of the year!"
"Really? Will that money accrue a decent interest rate or something?"
"Uh, well, no. But you'll forget about it, and it will be like a spring-time Christmas present!"
The stupidity of this stunned even my, admittedly stupid, 15-year-old self. Why would I voluntarily overpay my taxes, with the hopes that the government might give it back someday? But now, the stupidity comes home to roost. If Republicans are serious about undermining ACA (unfortunately, most of them aren't) they'll simply promote awareness of this glaring loophole.
I remember when I was hired for my first real job (literally a McJob, I was a fry cook for MickeyD's), the person walking me through the paper work suggested that I claim zero exemptions for purposes of income tax withholding. "Why would I want to do that?", I asked. "Because then you'll get a bigger refund at the end of the year!"
"Really? Will that money accrue a decent interest rate or something?"
"Uh, well, no. But you'll forget about it, and it will be like a spring-time Christmas present!"
The stupidity of this stunned even my, admittedly stupid, 15-year-old self. Why would I voluntarily overpay my taxes, with the hopes that the government might give it back someday? But now, the stupidity comes home to roost. If Republicans are serious about undermining ACA (unfortunately, most of them aren't) they'll simply promote awareness of this glaring loophole.
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