July 20, 2009
ABCNews.com Article Highlights Tax Foundation Report on Health Care Surtax
"Health Care and Taxes: 10 Worst States for the Rich"
By Nathalie Tadena and Alice Gomstyn
The proposed health care surtax now making its way through Congress is a three-tiered plan requiring a 5.4 percent surtax for couples with an adjusted gross income of more than $1 million and individuals with an AGI of $800,000. Households with an AGI between $350,000 and $500,000 would face a 1 percent surtax and those with an AGI between $500,000 and $1 million would face a 1.5 percent surtax.
According to a report this month by the Tax Foundation, a tax research group based in Washington, D.C., wealthy taxpayers in 39 states could pay a top tax rate higher than 50 percent by 2011. The report combined states' average local tax rates, top state and federal rates with the 2.9 percent Medicare tax and the proposed 5.4 percent health surtax.