Health tax to favor unions

The Senate Democrats have a large tax increase planned to pay for their health-care takeover. They intend to hit "gold-plated" benefits. But not for their union friends. The difference is not according to the higher benefit. No. Just if you are in a union. You say, "That's different." Yes, another pay back. Senator Max Baucus has his defense ready. He claims he is just protecting legal contracts - union contracts. He just doesn't want his law to violate the laws that uphold those contracts. Nonsense. Obama has run all over legal contracts. He stole Chrysler from those who held its senior debt and gave it to the UAW union. If Baucus intends to uphold contracts he can first go and remove ownership from the UAW and restore those debt holders. He will do that first if he is serious. Not! Bloomberg

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, the chief congressional advocate of taxing some employer-provided benefits to help pay for an overhaul of the U.S. health system, says any change should exempt perks secured in existing collective- bargaining agreements, which can be in place for as long as five years. The exception, which could make the proposal more politically palatable to Democrats from heavily unionized states such as Michigan, is adding controversy to an already contentious debate. It would shield the 12.4 percent of American workers who belong to unions from being taxed while exposing some other middle-income workers to the levy. "I can't think of any other aspect of the individual income tax that treats benefits of different people differently because of who they work for," said Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, a Washington research group that often criticizes Democrats' economic proposals. Edwards said the carve-out "smacks of political favoritism."

Via American Thinker Blog: Union health plans may avoid special tax: Also: Union workers would be exempt from Dem health care tax | Washington Examiner :