Eric Fehrnstrom, Mitt Romney Adviser: Individual Mandate Is A 'Penalty,' Not A 'Tax'

Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior adviser to Mitt Romney, admitted Monday that he actually agrees with the Obama administration on something: the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act is a "penalty" and not a "tax."

Since the Supreme Court upheld President Barack Obama's health care law but ruled that its mandate is a tax, Republicans have criticized him for imposing a massive tax on the American public.

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How many threads on ATS claims this is a tax? The Republicans are attacking Obama based on the ruling that its a tax, but the Romney campaign agrees with Obama that its a penalty and not a tax.

But in a Monday interview on MSNBC's "The Daily Rundown," Fehrnstrom contradicted this statement, agreeing with the Obama administration that the mandate is a "penalty" on individuals who do not purchase insurance -- not a tax.

They go one to claim Obama claimed it was not a tax then went to court and claimed it was a tax and now there back to claiming it isn't a tax.

There is flip flopping all over this issue on both sides it seems. gotta love our politics!!!

There's nothing like arguing semantics. They are taking your money one way or the other. They can call it Christmas in Dixie for all the difference it makes. It works about as well as calling terrorist attacks man made disasters. Semantics are only used to help some folks sleep better at night IMO.

When your "penalty" is taken out through your "taxes", it's a bloody tax. Just because you get a "deduction" doesn't mean that it's not a reimbursement for TAXATION.

If the IRS has to do it, it's a tax, or close enough to say quit playing silly buggers.


If you own a house in Louisiana, and it has more than 1 driveway, you get to be penalized on your taxes by an extra $50, if only it being an extra driveway. If the extra driveway leads to a separate house, the 2nd home is not covered by your "homestead exemption" property tax, you get penalized by paying more property tax on that part of the property.

Shoot. To make this as simple as possible:

Penalties and Deductions are simply the technical term for MOAR TAX and LESS TAX, on a tax form.

reply to post by CynicalDrivel


Its the point of this thread, the republican party is calling it a tax, the Romney campaign is calling it a penalty.

reply to post by LDragonFire


And my point was that a Penalty is what you call a subtraction from your overall taxes. It is legitimate to call it both a tax (the whole) and a penalty (the part). Therefore, non-issue.

reply to post by CynicalDrivel

If it was a non issue they why has he flipped flopped again?

Mitt Romney said the federal health care reform mandate constitutes a "tax" Wednesday, contradicting the way a senior adviser to his campaign characterized his position earlier this week.

But the similar individual mandate and fee he signed into law when governor of Massachusetts is not a tax, he said in a separate interview, citing the Supreme Court's decision last Thursday.

Of the federal law, Romney told CNN's Dana Bash and Shawna Shepherd, "Supreme Court is the final word, right? The highest court in the land? They said it's a tax didn't they?"

Romney calls health care mandate a "tax"

It would be foolish to believe anything he has to say about anything.