Can Congress repeal this "tax"?

Self | 6/28/2012 | Sefl

[Signalman]

Now that we know that the mandate is a tax (despite the Dems stating repeatedly that it wasn't) can't a future Congress (perhaps the next Congress) simply repeal it?

[Jedidah]

Of course.

That’s the silver lining that so many FReepers fail to see but that is the strongest argument for voting GOP in November.

Who doesn’t love a party that wants to repeal taxes?

[RJS1950]

The “tax” was not written into law as a tax so as long as it is not amended and passed by the House then there is no lawful tax as it applies to this “law”.

[Old Sarge]

Not "can" - "will"?

[jessduntno]

Yes they can. What I don’t understand, though, is how they can avoid having to redo the entire piece of legislation - it was not presented as a tax?

[pgyanke]

More to the point... why did the Dems insist it wasn’t a tax? Because, the final bill originated in the Senate and never received a final vote in the House. All revenue bills must originate in the House. However, because they feared another House vote, the Dems pulled the Senate bill from reconciliation and “deemed” it passed.

The law as passed is completely invalidated by the SCOTUS ruling.

[kevkrom]

Obamacare is no longer the issue.

Today’s ruling basically says, “hey, federal government! You don’t have to do end-runs using the commerce clause anymore; all you have to do it order people around and make them pay a ‘tax’ if they refuse, and we’re cool with it!”

That is the real problem.

[Defiant]

But the principle remains, for future Congresses to take advantage of. They can tax you if you have a second child. They can tax you if you own guns. They can tax you if you assert your right to free speech or religion. They can tax you for wanting to defend yourself from criminal charges in court. There is no limit to the power to tax, according to this decision. If it's a tax, the 16th amendment allows it.

That is an incorrect reading of the 16th amendment. The power to tax must still be tied to a legitimate, enumerated power of the federal government. But not according to today's ruling.

[Cowman]

They can. They can also mandate we buy broccoli or GM hybrid cars. They can do whatever they want

So, could this be the Dread Scott decision that gets the machinery started to repeal the 16th amendment?

[bigbob]

Yes.

Obamacare has been the law of the land for months now. It’s up to the legislative branch to make laws, or un-make them. Courts only interpret the constitutionality and we know now where that landed but it’s wrong to ever think of the court as a substitute for making law.

In fact when the other side does that, we howl about “judicial activism”. Justice Roberts may be demonized by for not being an activist, but he did his job correctly.

[Crimson Elephant]

Maybe I am a moron, but how can a bill be passed without being “a tax”, then upheld as “a tax”. Doesn’t that mean that should have to go fix the bill and revote on a “fixed” bill?

[cydcharisse]

They can repeal it. They will not repeal it.

[concerned about politics]

Because the court said it was a tax, it can disappear. They can also invalidate the whole thing if they want.

Now that the government has a "Constitutional right" to control our personal behavior (through punitive taxation), the Republicans can put a massive tax on anyone who doesn't own a weapon for self protection if they want to.

They can force us to do anything through the IRS. If we do not obey and pay, they can put us behid bars for our disobedience.

[Daveinyork]

“Who doesn’t love a party that wants to repeal taxes?”

Moochers and looters, of the number of which are legion.

[Graewoulf]

Probably not.

What Congress approved was a punitive fine.

SCOTUS by decree today converted that punitive fine into a predatory tax.

Thus, it is up to Congress and the SCOTUS to jointly meet and hammer out their differences at the same Conference Table that The House and Senate no longer use to hammer out their differences.

Then the entire matter goes back to the full vote of the Congress and SCOTUS.

However, SCOTUS is on summer Va-Kay, and Congress is busy trying to stay on the tax-payer gravy train.

It just isn’t going to happen for a year or so, if then.

[Tau Food]

They can tax you if you own guns.

I beg to differ. There is a specific Constitutional right to bear arms. There is no specific Constitutional right to not have health insurance.

[Meet the New Boss]

Can Congress repeal this "tax"?

Congress can repeal any law, whether it is called a tax or not.

Because the Democraps will filibuster repeal in the Senate, we will need 60 votes in the Senate.

The Democraps had a bizarre, fleeting moment of history when they had the 60 votes before Scott Brown took office, and that's how they managed to put the shackles on the American people.

It's hard to see how the Republicans will get to the 60 votes necessary for repeal given the makeup of the country.

[Parmenio]

A tax can be repealed in reconciliation. No filibuster allowed on a reconciliation vote and hence no 60 votes needed in the Senate.