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Rubio: “Let’s do everything we possibly can to keep the IRS out of our health care.”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution providing that “Congress shall make no law that imposes a tax on a failure to purchase goods or services.”  The provision would effectively reverse the ObamaCare individual mandate tax and prevent future attempts to tax individuals and businesses for failing to purchase goods and services Congress has deemed mandatory to have.

Companion legislation, H.J. Res. 28, has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Steven Palazzo (R-MS).

“ObamaCare is a disastrous policy that is not only destructive to job creation, it will also unleash the corrupt and scandal-ridden IRS on taxpayers simply for not buying health insurance,” said Rubio.  “We should put our faith in the American people to decide what goods and services they want to buy, not have Congress dictate it and have the IRS empowered to harass Americans to make sure they do it. Let’s do everything we can to keep the IRS out of our health care and stop future congresses from forcing private citizens to spend their hard-earned money on products or services Washington is forcing on them.”

Congressman Palazzo, the House sponsor, welcomed Rubio’s role in promoting this effort. “Senator Rubio has been a consistent defender of individual liberty, and I’m proud to have his support in championing this cause,” said Palazzo. “Just as the IRS has no business punishing organizations based on political beliefs, the government has no business telling individuals how they should spend their hard-earned money. How can Americans feel confident about ObamaCare going forward if they can’t even trust the agency tasked with enforcing this massive law? That is why Right to Refuse is so important. It would take the power out of the hands of the IRS and place it back in the hands of the American people.”   

Last year the Supreme Court rejected the Obama Administration’s claim that ObamaCare’s individual mandate fell within Congress’s constitutional power to regulate commerce.  A slim majority of the court, however, concluded that the mandate was, in fact, a tax and upheld its constitutionality.  The unprecedented and controversial ruling potentially opens the door to future legislation that could force citizens to purchase goods or services at the risk of being hit with a tax penalty.  If passed by Congress and ratified by the states, the “Right to Refuse” amendment would reassert constitutionally limited government and exempt the more than 6 million individuals and businesses expected to be hit with thousands of dollars in mandate taxes set to begin in 2014.  It would also permanently prevent Congress from passing future legislation forcing Americans to choose between purchase of goods and services or tax penalties.    

The Right To Refuse constitutional amendment is supported by several conservative organizations, including Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), R Street Institute, American Commitment, the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) and the National Taxpayers Union (NTU).

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