It’s exactly a “tax” on inactivity. (Actually, it’s not a tax at all — it’s a penalty.)
“It’s exactly a ‘tax’ on inactivity”
Yes and no. Yes in the sense that the income tax, for instance, is a tax is effectively a tax on the activity that earned you income. No in the sense that the income tax, for instance, is a tax on the status of having earned a certain amount of money in a certain period of time.
I see where you’re coming from; it’s the same place that recognizes the absurdity of regulating inactivity. You can’t regulate something that doesn’t exist. But taxation is different: you can tax something that doesn’t exist by taxing the status resulting from its nonexistence.
“Actually it’s not as tax at all — it’s a penalty”
Absolutely, but as in many things SCOTUS forces us to play makebelieve.